YouTube Shorts announces 3-minute videos

Denim shorts aren’t the only shorts getting longer. On Oct. 15 YouTube will allow users to upload three-minute Shorts, an increase from the previous 60-second limit.

According to a press release, longer Shorts were “a top requested feature by creators,” likely because it will make it easier to cross-post content across TikTok and Shorts. TikTok launched three-minute videos in 2021 and now has a 10-minute limit, while its other competitor Instagram Reels currently has a 90-second limit.

TikTok’s expansion to 10-minute-long video was seen as a move to compete with YouTube’s longer videos and now YouTube is tailoring its Shorts even closer to TikTok. Social media platforms’ circular battle for dominance leads us to a group of platforms that all want to be each other.

YouTube announced longer Shorts alongside “templates,” a trends page on mobile, and the option to show fewer Shorts. Templates offers a shortcut to recreating a trend — Reels launched templates last year…