Instagram will roll out a new change today in its iOS and Android update: longer videos. The Facebook-owned app will move from a 15 second video limit, which was first introduced to the public in June 2013, to 60 seconds.
Thus far, 60-second videos were exclusively available to advertisers. Considering that consumption of video content on the photo-sharing app has increased by 40 percent in six months, according to Instagram, the decision to make the feature public to the app's 400 million-plus users comes as no surprise.
“We want to bring you fun, flexible and creative ways to create and watch video on Instagram,” said Instagram on their blog. “As part of our continued commitment, you’ll soon have the flexibility to tell your story in up to 60 seconds of video. This is one step of many you’ll see this year.”
The company also revealed that iOS users will be able to make videos using multiple clips from their camera roll — this feature existed before but was removed.
In February, Instagram changed the assessment of video engagement by replacing “likes” with a view count of the number of times a video has been watched.
“We think it's important to help someone like Zach King, who is getting 5m views/day, or Rachel Ryle, who is getting hundreds of thousands of views/video, understand the depth of ways people are engaging with their videos," said Instagram at the time.
The social media platform has been under fire from its users after it announced that it would be stepping away from a chronological timeline to one curated by an algorithm.
