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YouTube bumps video limit to 15 minutes

Want to put videos longer than 10 minutes up on YouTube? It's now a reality, with a new 15-minute limit.

Josh Lowensohn Former Senior Writer
Josh Lowensohn joined CNET in 2006 and now covers Apple. Before that, Josh wrote about everything from new Web start-ups, to remote-controlled robots that watch your house. Prior to joining CNET, Josh covered breaking video game news, as well as reviewing game software. His current console favorite is the Xbox 360.
Josh Lowensohn
YouTube's 15 minute limit
Screenshot by Josh Lowensohn/CNET

Long-video makers can rejoice, as YouTube has extended the allotted time of user uploads from 10 to 15 minutes.

According to a Thursday post on YouTube's blog, increasing the limit was the most requested feature by YouTube users, though it had to be put on hold while the company worked on other projects and behind-the-scenes infrastructure. In March, for instance, the company announced that 24 hours of video was uploaded every minute. That's up from around six hours just three years ago. Given the new limit, that's a metric that's likely to keep on growing.

When YouTube first launched in 2005, users could actually upload clips that were longer than 10 minutes, though without limits it was easy to upload full-length, copyrighted content. YouTube responded by creating the limit, as well as adding new account types like "director," "comedian," "musician," and "guru," which would require a few extra steps of registration, but remove the time limit altogether. The rest of the YouTube population simply got around the limits by splitting up shows into 10-minute chunks, which would work until YouTube's content filters flagged it as a violation.

YouTube says users who had previously uploaded content that was too long will have to delete, then re-upload it. The company is also running a promotion called "15 minutes of fame" which will feature 15-minute videos shot by users who use the "yt15minutes" tag.