YouTube abandons video length limit

YouTube is giving select users the chance to make their 15 minutes of fame last a bit longer by extending its video upload length limits, pcmag.com reported.

The offer will be available to "selected users with a history of complying with the YouTube Community Guidelines and our copyright rules," YouTube said in a blog post.

This is the second time this year that YouTube changed its length requirements. In July, the site gave users an extra five minutes, allowing videos that were a maximum of 15 minutes long.

YouTube said that one of the things that allowed it to take away length limits is its Content ID system. This is a tool that allows YouTube to identify and remove copyrighted footage from the site.

"Over 1,000 global partners use Content ID to manage their content on YouTube, including every major U.S. movie studio and music label," YouTube said in a blog. "We remain as dedicated as ever to building and improving the most sophisticated technology in the world to help copyright owners protect their rights."

If a user wants to upload a video that was previously rejected for being too long, he or she must go to the "My Videos" section and delete the old video before adding the longer version.

YouTube recently said that users are uploading 35 hours of video per minute. Now that length requirements are gone, this number just might increase.

In other YouTube news, Google on Wednesday announced that a new YouTube 2.1 Android app is now available. With this release, YouTube app updates are no longer tied to Android OS releases. Additions to version 2.1 includes in-page playback, the ability to post comments while videos are playing, easier access to subscription videos, and a new full-screen user interface.