TikTok is again cranking up the maximum length of videos users can upload to the platform — more than tripling it, to 10 minutes.
TikTok, owned by Chinese internet conglomerate ByteDance, is moving to let creators make longer-form videos as rivals like YouTube, Facebook and Instagram have aggressively built out their own TikTok-like short-form video features.
TikTok’s expansion to allow up to 10-minute videos comes less than a year after it raised the maximum length of videos to three minutes in July 2021 (up from 60 seconds before).
One of the reasons TikTok has become massively popular — with more than 1 billion monthly active users — is that it provides an auto-generated feed of entertaining, bite-size short videos of under a minute, algorithmically tailored to users’ interests. It’s not clear how many TikTokers will take advantage of the longer-form videos but the change clearly shows that the company is eager to facilitate ways to keep viewers in the app for longer periods of time.
And TikTok is now equipped to further encroach on YouTube’s main turf, after the latter’s YouTube Shorts format has gained traction with creators and viewers since it debuted in September 2020.
“We’re always thinking about new ways to bring value to our community and enrich the TikTok experience,” a TikTok rep said in a statement. “Last year, we introduced longer videos, giving our community more time to create and be entertained on TikTok. Today, we’re excited to start rolling out the ability to upload videos that are up to 10 minutes, which we hope would unleash even more creative possibilities for our creators around the world.”
TikTok’s new 10-minute max was spotted by social media consultant Matt Navarra, who shared a message from the TikTok app about the change:
TikTok creeping in on YouTube territory
I can now upload videos up to 10 minutes long pic.twitter.com/P2Mbf4ygWV
— Matt Navarra (@MattNavarra) February 28, 2022
