Right now, YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and Snapchat are combatting each other on the short-form video front. TikTok, which is dominating, took another step and increased its maximum video upload length. Now, people can upload 10-minute long TikToks to the platform.
People can now upload 10-minute long TikToks
TikTok has been increasing the maximum upload length of its posts over the years. For a while, users could upload videos up to three minutes long. That’s a fair amount of time, and 3x as long as YouTube Shorts, IG Reels, and Snapchat Spotlights. Three minutes is long enough to get a good point across, but it seems that the users wanted even longer.
According to a tweet from @MattNavarra, TikTokers can now upload 10-minute long TikToks to the platform. The company has already rolled out the feature out globally. This rollout was for both iOS and Android, so everyone can enjoy this feature from day one. Not only that, but people using the desktop version can also upload 10-minute long videos.
Make sure your app is up-to-date
If you’re still capped at the 3-minute videos, you’ll need to make sure your app is up to date. If you’re on Android, tap and hold the TikTok icon and go to the “App Info” option. Scroll to the bottom and you should see the version number and the App Details option. Tapping that will bring you to the Play Store entry. If you have the option to update the app, you should do so. If you don’t have the option, then you will need to wait a bit for it to reach you.
This could take a bite out of YouTube’s user base
Let’s address the elephant in the room: this could be an issue for YouTube. What YouTube always had over platforms like IGTV, TikTok, and Vine was the ability to post longer videos. Now, TikTok is letting people upload 10-minute long TikToks. That’s still nothing compared to what YouTube can do, but a lot of videos can be wrapped up in 10 minutes. Animations, reviews, and other content don’t really need 10 minutes to be fully realized.
Longer video uploads, coupled with the vertical scrolling feed, could prove to be just the thing to steal more people away from YouTube. YouTubers are already battling the tough terms of service, the COPPA situation, and the aggressive algorithm. TikTok’s free and lenient nature could be the thing to also grant TikTok the title for long-form content.
2022-03-01 15:06:08