If you were hoping to watch The Sopranos or Mean Girls on TikTok, I have good news for you: TikTok is now reportedly testing 30-minute videos. This is according to social media consultant Matt Navarra, who started up the rumor mill by posting a screenshot to Threads accompanied with the message, “It’s happening.”
From the screenshot, it appears that Navarra spotted the update in the iOS beta version of the app in the UK; and according to TechCrunch, users are seeing the option in Android versions of the beta app, too.
This comes after TikTok underwent numerous updates in December, all of which were aimed to optimize the platform for larger screens like laptops and iPads. In the beginning, TikToks had a time limit of 15 seconds. This soon increased to one minute, then three minutes, then ten.
Back in October, Navarra also revealed that the platform was testing fifteen-minute-long videos, although this feature has not been rolled out beyond beta yet.
That same month, per The Information, TikTok invited dozens of creators to their New York office in a bid to convince them to make longer content. “YouTube went out of its way to become more like TikTok, and now TikTok is trying to become more like YouTube,” Matt Koval, former YouTube employee, told the outlet.
TikTok didn’t immediately respond to Passionfruit’s request for comment via email.
Ironically, as TikTok is getting longer, other video platforms are getting shorter. Meta has popularized TikTok-style videos and reposts across Facebook and Instagram over the last couple of years with Reels. While YouTube also rolled out its answer to TikTok in the form of YouTube Shorts.
At first, investors didn’t think much of YouTube Shorts, but new data revealed there was a 700% year-on-year increase in spending on branded partnerships with creators on YouTube Shorts last year, suggesting that they may have a more lucrative feature.
