If like so many of us you’ve fallen far, far down the TikTok rabbit hole, you’ll be pleased to know the amount of times you hear “like and follow for part 2” is about decrease significantly. Earlier today, TikTok announced the social media and video sharing app is rolling out the ability for all users to create three minute video, tripling it’s current limit. According to the official TikTok blog post announcing the update, the increase is meant to help with “paving the way for even richer storytelling and entertainment on TikTok.”
“Creators are already well-versed in weaving multi-part stories together on TikTok … 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.”
The major update is one that’s been in the works since late last year, and it’s pretty likely you’ve already stumbled across a few lengthier vids while scrolling though videos by the apps top creators. In TikTok’s announcement, product manager Drew Kirchhoff shared a few of these already-viral TikTok’s that take advantage of the new three-minute time limit. Each video showcased how this increase in time can provide an increased opportunity to help educate viewers, whether it be through safety tips, history lessons, or cooking videos.
As of right now, TikTok didn’t say how longer runtimes will affect its recommendation algorithm. Fingers crossed the app creators don’t follow YouTube’s suit and favor longer videos and viewer retention above all else. If so, we might start to see less of the short, viral clips that made TikTok so special in the first place.