TikTok tests 15-minute video uploads with select users

SAN FRANCISCO: In a bid to take on YouTube, Chinese short-video making app TikTok is testing the ability for its users to upload 15-minute long videos.

Social media consultant Matt Navarra first posted a screenshot of a message shown to users who have access to the new feature.

“TikTok is testing 15 minute video upload limit. Previous maximum video length was 10 minutes,” he posted on Instagram-owned Threads.

According to the screenshot, users can upload longer videos to the platform from both the TikTok app and on desktop.

TikTok told TechCrunch that the new upload limit is being tested in select regions with a limited group of users.

The social media platform expanded its maximum video length to 10 minutes, up from three minutes, in February 2022.

Before that, the limit was 60 seconds after initially expanding from 15 seconds.

The expanded video length will give creators even more time and flexibility, according to the report.

In the third quarter of 2023, TikTok generated around 272.7 million downloads from users worldwide, according to Statista.

Initially launched in China first by ByteDance as Douyin, the short-video format was popularized by TikTok and took over the global social media environment in 2020.

In the first quarter of 2020, TikTok downloads peaked at over 313.5 million worldwide, up by 62.3 percent compared to the first quarter of 2019.

TikTok now has more than 1 billion users worldwide.