TikTok to open up 10-minute video uploads to all users

TikTok, the hit short video platform, expands the maximum length of videos that users can upload to the platform to 10 minutes.

This is the second time in less than a year that TikTok has expanded video lengths. The previous expansion came last August, when users were given the chance to post 5-minute-long videos. 

A TikTok spokesperson told TechCrunch, “We’re always thinking about new ways to bring value to our community and enrich the TikTok experience. 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 is keeping expanding video length. Originally, the platform’s time limit per clip was 15 seconds, before being extended to 60 seconds, then 3 minutes. Douyin, TikTok’s sister app in China, has enabled 15-minute uploads for all users since 2019.

It also signals TikTok’s plan to further encroach on YouTube’s major turf, as the latter has aggressively built YouTube Shorts, a short-form video feature similar to TikTok.

In July 2021, YouTube Shorts was introduced, allowing its producers to make up to 60-second videos, and the YouTube Shorts fund was established to allow its top creators to monetize their shorter content, similar to TikTok’s creator fund.

TikTok, owned by Chinese tech upstart ByteDance, is sweeping the globe, becoming the world’s most downloaded app in 2020 and 2021.It was able to replace YouTube in terms of average viewing time per user in the US as early as August 2020.