YouTube Shorts are getting less short

YouTube Shorts, the company’s answer to TikTok, is getting updates including longer video lengths, the company announced today.

Beginning on October 15th, creators will be able to upload YouTube Shorts that are up to three minutes in length — a feature YouTube says was highly requested by users. TikTok currently allows videos as long as 10 minutes and has steadily increased the limit over the years.

YouTube also announced a template feature that lets creators reuse the format of other Shorts. YouTube says creators will be able to match their clips to trending sounds pulled from other videos, which is similar to a TikTok feature where users can pick from preset video styles and then tweak their own clips based on their preferences. Both template features make it faster and easier to jump on trends (or just clone another users’ editing choices), but they also lead to a lot of content looking and feeling the same. Instagram Reels also has a template feature that lets creators crib editing choices with just a few clicks. YouTube’s template option will be accessible via the “remix” button on videos.

YouTube has been heavily pushing Shorts as a TikTok alternative, adding similar features and dumping money on creators in an effort to encourage them to make shortform content. But YouTube also seems to acknowledge that some users want less TikTok-style content and more of the longform videos YouTube is known for: the company also announced today it’s adding a “show fewer Shorts” option that will temporarily result in fewer Shorts videos in a user’s home feed.