Size Matters: TikTok was originally designed to give users a quick and easy way to share short video clips within their social circle – it’s been like the Twitter of video. The company now seems interested in encroaching into YouTube’s territory with extended time limits and new forms of entertainment.
Despite suffering legal pressures coming from many parts of the Western world, TikTok is still trying to grow its business prospects with new user-centric features. As spotted by social media consultant Matt Navarra and later confirmed by TechCrunch, the Chinese video social network is experimenting with an option to upload “clips” as long as 60 minutes.
When it first launched in 2016, TikTok allowed users to upload 15-second videos at max. That initial time limit has increased over time, making the social network a more enticing platform for creators and streamers mostly active on older, more feature-rich video-sharing networks like YouTube.
For sharing long clips and live streaming, YouTube is still king of the hill and will likely remain so for the foreseeable future. Unverified accounts can upload videos with a maximum length of 15 minutes, while verified accounts enjoy a much more permissive experience with a maximum file size of 256 GB or 12 hours, “whichever is less.”
Nevertheless, a 60-minute time limit could give TikTok a competing chance against Google-owned YouTube.
Creators have repeatedly asked ByteDance to increase the maximum video length so they can use the network to share more types of content, including cooking demonstrations, beauty tutorials, educational lessons, and more.
The ability to upload longer videos would also open TikTok to a post-TV future, with media companies and networks making episodes of their series available on the platform. Studios have already used TikTok to promote TV productions, but companies have to break promotional episodes into multiple parts, making the viewing experience cumbersome.
TikTok has so far provided no significant details regarding the availability of the 60-minute upload option. The company might need to solve its troublesome legal position first, as authorities are now willing to force it to shut down the app in the US. Europe is looking to enforce a potential ban as well.
Legendary Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak recently accused Washington authorities of being hypocritical, as all other social platforms are tracking and endangering users, too.