The news: YouTube has extended its Shorts video limit to 3 minutes from 1, allowing creators to produce longer content while retaining the format's fast-paced nature. The adjustment follows similar moves by TikTok and Instagram, which have gradually extended their video length limits to meet growing creator demand.

By 2028, 59.7% of the US population will be watching YouTube Shorts at least once per month, marking a steady increase from 51.9% this year, per our forecast.

Why it matters: This change is a major step for YouTube as it seeks to compete with other short-form video platforms by offering more flexibility to content creators—and demonstrates the ongoing excitement of the format.