'Tik Tok' tests longer-form content as rivalry with Tencent-backed apps heats up

'Tik Tok' boosted its user base from 100 million viewers to 130 million after the merger with lip-synching app 'Musical.ly' in August.

Tik Tok, the popular short-video platform known as Douyin in mainland China, has started testing longer-form content of more than two minutes among domestic users, as it faces increased competition from apps backed by internet giant Tencent Holdings.

The new feature to create longer videos, compared with the typical 15-second clips carried on the platform, has been made available on the app’s latest upgrade for Android smartphone users on the mainland, according to a report from Chinese tech news site 36Kr.com.