YouTube Shorts Will Soon Be Up to 3 Minutes Long

YouTube has rolled out significant updates to its Shorts feature, expanding video lengths to three minutes and enhancing the overall experience with new tools and interface tweaks. These changes aim to strengthen YouTube's position against TikTok, which already offers longer video options and trend-driven features.

A major upgrade to the Shorts player makes videos the focal point by reducing clutter. Key interaction buttons like comments and shares are now outlined rather than filled in, allowing more of the video to be visible. The creator’s details, including the name, description, and sound information, are compressed, although this leads to some content being hidden behind a “more” button.

In an effort to tap into trending content more easily, YouTube is introducing templates for creators. This mimics TikTok’s popular CapCut integration, enabling users to quickly remix and personalize existing templates for their own videos, though YouTube keeps the process within the platform.

youtu

The new “Remix” feature lets users rework Shorts directly, and soon, users will be able to pull clips from across YouTube to create their own versions. This move makes participating in trends and viral content more accessible for creators.