Fresh off a controversy about its impending shuffling of users’ news feeds, Instagram is now messing with its videos—for the better.
On Tuesday, the photo-sharing app owned by Facebook (FB) said it’s extending the length of videos that can be uploaded to 60 seconds, up from 15 seconds. It’s already started to roll out this extension, which should be available to all users within the next few months.
Instagram first added video to its service in June 2013, and the limit has been 15 seconds ever since. However, as it continues to beef up its money-making machine—ads!—adding longer videos that keep users more engaged will be helpful. Instagram also says that in the last six months, the time that users spent watching videos on Instagram has jumped by more than 40%.
The move could also help Instagram remain competitive against other apps like Snapchat when it comes to commanding users’ time and eyeballs, especially now that an increasing number of celebrities are joining Snapchat. Celebrities have long been a staple of Instagram content, and giving them more options on Instagram is in its best interest.
