TikTok is letting everyone on the app post longer videos. The new maximum length is three minutes, a sizeable increase from the previous one-minute limit.
Three-Minute Videos Are Coming to TikTok
TikTok rose in popularity due to its bite-sized clips, but now, that's about to change. In a post on the TikTok Newsroom, the app announced that all users will be able to create longer videos.
TikTok started tossing around the idea of longer videos in December 2020, and later began testing three-minute videos with a small group of creators. Lengthier videos will let users get more creative, allowing them to expand on their tutorials, comedic skits, and dance routines.
"With longer videos, creators will have the canvas to create new or expanded types of content on TikTok, with the flexibility of a bit more space," said Drew Kirchoff, the product manager at TikTok.
Currently, users with the one-minute limit are stuck creating multiple videos to get a single idea across. This is not only inconvenient for creators, who have to pause their work to create a second or third clip, but it could also prove annoying for viewers, as they have to dig in order to find parts two and three.
With three-minute videos, creators get a lot more flexibility when filming. The platform didn't give an exact date for when the new length will go into effect, but it did say that it'll be rolled out "over the coming weeks." Users will receive a notification when they're able to create longer videos.
Will Longer Videos Change TikTok for the Better?
Viral clips from TikTok are often so memorable because of their short length. Users accustomed to short clips may not want to sit through a three-minute video—after all, isn't that what YouTube's for?
Speaking of YouTube, TikTok's newly extended limit may make the short-form video platform an even greater threat to the king of online videos. YouTube went so far as to create YouTube Shorts, a TikTok copycat that lets users record and post one-minute videos. Now that TikTok is diversifying its video lengths, YouTube may have to try even harder to compete.
Even Instagram has gotten in on the short video craze by rolling out Reels. Facebook is even considering displaying Reels in the Stories panel, so you may not be able to escape from short-form videos on any social platform.
Longer Videos Will Likely Make TikTok More Dominant
TikTok is dominating the realm of social media, thanks to its endless stream of funny and entertaining videos that quickly reel users in. Although 60 second videos are quick and easy to watch, three-minute videos will likely keep users immersed in TikTok for much longer.