What it means for a Dubai business
Instagram moved to views as one metric across formats so photos, carousels and Reels can be compared. A view counts each time the content appears or starts playing, so it is always higher than reach.
Views alone say little about whether people cared. Pair them with watch time on Reels and with saves and shares on any format.
Example
Picture an event company whose Reel draws several times the views of its carousel. The carousel is the one people save and the one that brings an enquiry. For this company the carousel did more business, even though the view count was lower.
Common mistake
Comparing views from before and after the change with older impression numbers. The definitions differ. Compare like with like over the same period.