TikTok Tests Even Longer Video Uploads as it Looks to Expand its Presence

A new article on Social Media Today reports that as TikTok continues to add more users and build out its business offerings, it's also looking to new use case options and ways that it can maximize its fast-growing presence. We've seen this with a new test of TikTok Stories, the addition of a dedicated Resumes option for jobseekers, reports of group messaging elements on the way, and more. And now, TikTok's trying out another potential platform expansion, with some users seeing the following new notification in the app.



TikTok is now allowing some users to upload videos of up to 5 minutes in length to the app, which could spark a major shift in platform usage. The platform has already extended its video length limit multiple times, first allowing users to upload 60-second clips (up from 15 seconds originally), then expanding that to 3 minutes in July this year. The longer time limits allow for more creative capacity and will also enable TikTok to insert more ad slots, which would be expanded again by giving users access to 5 minute clips, a key potential boost for the company's growth ambitions.

What do people here think about long-form video within the TikTok stream? Is it a positive step, or is the app's key appeal entirely tied into its short-sharp clips?

People do already have the option to watch longer live streams in the app, and maybe TikTok's seen such a good response to its streams that expanding its upload options is a logical progression. Users with large fan bases on Douyin, the Chinese version of the app, have been able to upload 15-minute long videos since 2019, so TikTok is not unfamiliar with long-form content and the potential of such content in the app.