INTERNATIONAL: TikTok is ticking for a little longer. The world’s fastest-growing video sharing app has announced it will now allow users to create and share videos that are up to three minutes long, instead of just one minute. The company says it has been testing the change with a large number of creators over the past several months. The move could make TikTok even more of a competitor to a giant like YouTube, which is clearly already worried. It recently launched its own TikTok rival, “YouTube Shorts”, in its own app.

TikTok launched internationally in September 2017. The app has more than a billion users and is available in 155 countries and 75 languages. What helps TikTok stand out is that it’s more of an entertainment platform, instead of a lifestyle platform and what makes it so attractive is that practically anyone can become a content provider.

TikTok’s Product Manager, Drew Kirchoff, says “With longer videos, creators will have the canvas to create new or expanded types of content, with the flexibility of a bit more space.”

While YouTube is certainly mindful of TikTok’s growing popularity, Instagram is too. IG boss Adam Mosseri, says the Facebook-owned photo-sharing app will soon begin experimenting with short videos. He says the company is testing new ways to better embrace video, including “fullscreen, immersive” content.

TikTok hasn’t said how its longer clips might affect its much-loved recommendation algorithm, but if the data shows that longer videos mean longer app usage, we might just see less of the app’s short, snappy and strange viral clips.