YouTube short videos are now less long

YouTube Shorts, the company’s answer to TikTok, is getting updates that include longer videos, the company announced today.

Starting October 15, creators will be able to upload YouTube Shorts that are up to three minutes long — a feature YouTube says is highly requested by users. TikTok currently allows videos up to 10 minutes long and the limit has been steadily increasing over the years.

YouTube also announced a template feature that allows creators to reuse the format of other short videos. YouTube says creators will be able to match their clips to popular sounds taken from other videos, which is similar to a TikTok feature where users can choose from pre-made video styles and then edit their own clips based on their preferences. Both template features make it faster and easier to jump on trends (or just replicate other users’ editing options), but they also result in a lot of content looking and feeling the same. Instagram Reels also has a template feature that allows creators to select editing options with just a few clicks. The YouTube template option will be available via the “Remix” button on videos.

YouTube has been aggressively pushing short-form videos as an alternative to TikTok, adding similar features and throwing money at creators in an attempt to encourage them to create short-form content. But YouTube also seems to acknowledge that some users want less TikTok-style content and more of the longer videos that YouTube is known for: The company also announced today that it’s adding a “Show fewer shorts” option that will temporarily result in fewer short videos. In general, the user’s home feed.