YouTube is testing a new all-in-one shooting and uploading feature for its creators using the platform's mobile apps. It allows people to record multiple clips right in the YouTube app and upload them as a new video. However, there's a limitation that's odd at first glance: It looks like creators will only be able to record 15-second long clips or takes at a time.

We're not 100% sure if individual clips in a video can be a maximum of 15 seconds long or if the limitation applies to the fully edited video. The company isn't very clear when it explains the feature:

Tap or hold the record button to record your first clip, then tap again or release the button to stop recording that clip. Repeat these steps until you’re done capturing footage up to a maximum length of 15 seconds.

Even with this in mind, we're inclined to believe that the limitation applies to individual clips, not whole videos — publishing 15-second videos would be pointless for many YouTubers.

It's likely that this limitation stems from YouTube Stories. It's been possible to record and upload in this format right in the YouTube app since the feature was first introduced to creators back in 2018, and it would make sense that the engineers built the new record function on top of the available code from Stories. Like Stories on other platforms such as Instagram, individual clips can be no longer than 15 seconds, otherwise, they're split up. The difference is that Instagram automatically and seamlessly creates a new clip when you record one that's too long, which doesn't seem to be the case for YouTube here.

In the long term, the feature might open up a whole new, completely mobile production workflow, though it remains to be seen if creators are satisfied with the built-in editing tools. The record and upload function will initially only be available for a "small group of people" on both Android and iOS as the company is gathering feedback. We've reached out to YouTube for clarification regarding the 15-second limit.

Source: YouTube