Skip to main content

TikTok extends maximum video length … again

TikTok has extended the maximum time limit for videos on the platform to 10 minutes.

The change follows several months of testing, with the new limit being rolled out to all creators now.

The change is just the latest of many extensions made to TikTok’s time limit since the app launched in 2017. Originally, TikTok allowed videos of up to 15 seconds before increasing it to one minute. In July 2021, it increased the limit to three minutes before changing it again this week.

TikTok made no public announcement before introducing the change, with U.K.-based social media consultant Matt Navarra bringing it to widespread attention in a tweet on Monday.

TikTok creeping in on YouTube territory

I can now upload videos up to 10 minutes long pic.twitter.com/P2Mbf4ygWV

— Matt Navarra (@MattNavarra) February 28, 2022

Contacted after Navarra posted his message, TikTok confirmed the change, saying: “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.”

The extra seven minutes will allow creators to get more experimental with their content, and also reduces the possibility of having to split longer presentations across more than one video.

As for TikTok, offering its community the chance to create longer videos allows it — as Navarra pointed out — to better compete with YouTube, and could work to increase user engagement on the app.

One thing’s for sure — the increased limit takes the app further away from its roots, which may disappoint some of those who were there at the start. However, the fact that TikTok is gradually extending the maximum time suggests the community is, on the whole, happy with the ongoing changes.

Editors' Recommendations

Trevor Mogg
Contributing Editor
Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…
TikTok just launched a new way for you to make money on the app
Person's hand holding a smartphone with TikTok's logo on screen, all in front of a blurred background.

There are already a handful of ways for content creators to make money using TikTok, but now the app is adding a brand new way for creators to monetize their content with the newly introduced TikTok Series.

Announced today in a TikTok blog post, Series are the same types of videos you'd normally find on the app, but they are hidden behind a paywall that individual creators can set. This means that delivering premium content on TikTok is easier than ever before for both creators and their audiences.

Read more
TikTok should be expelled from app stores, senator says
TikTok icon illustration.

The wildly popular TikTok app continues to come under pressure from U.S. lawmakers.

Many are concerned that ByteDance, the Beijing-based company behind the app, has close ties with the Chinese government, and that laws in China mean it could be required to hand over user data to the government to assist in intelligence gathering.

Read more
Forget TikTok — it’s time to ban Twitter
Phil Nickinson's empty Twitter feed.

There are few sane headlines of late when it comes to social media. And if there are, they're probably about Facebook, which is just a sign of how weird things have gotten.

With the headline for this story, we manage to squeeze in both TikTok and Twitter. The platforms, to refer to them in the industry parlance, couldn't be more different, though we won't insult you as to try to describe them here. (If you really do need help, ask your kids. Don't have kids? Find one. They'll know TikTok. Need an explainer on Twitter? Ask a journalist, or your nearest bot farm.)

Read more