After taking over Twitter, Elon Musk had long promised that the company is working toward making the platform more appealing to video creators. Today, Twitter updated the Twitter Blue page declaring that subscribers can now upload 60-minute-long videos from the web at 1080p resolution and 2GB in file size.
Prior to the change, Twitter Blue subscribers were able to upload 10-minute-long videos on the platform at 1080p resolution with a file size limit of 512MB. Sadly, if you’re uploading from iOS or Android, this limit is still applicable.
Twitter said that it will consider modifying the quality of the video for distribution.
“We strive to maintain the highest possible video quality for all videos uploaded to our platform. However, we may modify or adapt your original video for distribution, syndication, publication, or broadcast by us and our partners and/or make changes in order to adapt it to different media, including modifying the resolution and bitrate of the original video while streaming based on the speed and stability of the viewer’s internet connection,” the company said on a support page.
By allowing longer video uploads, Twitter will also face a challenge to tackle piracy. Users might post movies or whole episodes of TV shows and the social network’s moderators and automated systems will have to be alert about removing them quickly. Last month, when Twitter’s copyright systems stopped working briefly, users uploaded whole movies in smaller chunks. The new 60-minute video limit makes it easier for culprits to post someone else’s work.
There are also questions about monetization from these videos. YouTube shows multiple ads in longer videos, but it’s not clear at the moment if Twitter is planning to do something similar.
Along with increasing the video upload limit, subscribers will also get priority in replies. The company said that users will “see a slight preference for replies from Blue verified accounts over other replies.” This means you will see replies by paid accounts before other replies. Twitter didn’t really detail how it might handle folks who pay to troll or spam other users by getting a preference in replies.
Musk-led Twitter relaunched Twitter Blue earlier this month after a disastrous first launch in November. Now, the company is charging $11 per month to iOS users to offset App Store fees and $8 per month to folks who subscribe using the web. Earlier this week, Twitter also rolled out the Blue for Business program, which allows companies to identify their affiliated brands and workers through an extra square badge.
Notably, longer video uploads and priority in replies are the first features to be available for paid users apart from the Blue verification badge.
