TikTok Rolls Out Three-Minute Video Feature For Users

TikTok has rolled out a new feature that allows anyone to publish videos up to three minutes in length, three times the existing one-minute limit.

The extension is expected to give creators more flexibility while filming and limit the need for multi-part posts.

Three-minute videos have been in testing at least since December, and it’s been easy to come across them when scrolling through videos from top TikTok creators, particularly in categories like cooking. Longer videos were limited to select users, though, but they’ll now be rolling out to everyone on TikTok over the coming weeks.

The company said its decision to extend the video timing three-time is due to the demand from the creators.

“Creators are already well-versed in weaving multi-part stories together on TikTok (we all know the phrase, "like and follow for part 3”) but we often hear from creators that they'd love just a little more time to bring their cooking demos, elaborate beauty tutorials, educational lesson plans, and comedic sketches to life with TikTok’s creative tools. 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.”

TikTok didn’t say how longer clips might affect its much-loved recommendation algorithm. But it’s worth considering the possible parallels to YouTube: as the platform grew, YouTube biased its algorithm toward viewer retention, which meant longer and longer videos — it’s why just about everything on YouTube is over 10 minutes long now. TikTok may not take the same approach, but if it turns out that longer videos = longer TikTok usage, we might see less of the app’s short, snappy, and strange viral clips.