X Launches In-App Video Clipping, And Both Creators Get Paid
X has launched an in-app video clipping tool that lets users cut a short section from a longer video, add their own commentary and post it as a new clip, without leaving the app. Both the person who makes the clip and the creator of the original video can earn from it.
- Platform: X
- Feature: In-app video clipping
- Clip length: 5 to 60 seconds
- Available: iOS and Android, web later
How Video Clipping On X Works
Users open a video post, tap the repost option and choose "Clip video". They pick the section, add commentary and publish it as a separate post. Each clip carries a "Clip from" label that links back to the original video, and no external app or download is needed.
Clips can run from 5 to 60 seconds and are capped at 30 per cent of the original's length. Only pre-recorded videos at least two minutes long are eligible, and livestreams cannot be clipped. A video needs to run longer than three minutes and 20 seconds for a full 60-second clip.
Who Gets Paid
Both the clipper and the original creator can earn through X's Original Content Rewards programme, based on the views a clip generates. Clip earnings are included in regular payouts, subject to the programme's eligibility rules. X has not published a revenue split. Clips do not qualify for the Video Kickstart Bonus, because they use someone else's video. X describes the idea as "Everyone wins when great moments travel."
Creator Controls
Creators cannot yet stop their videos being clipped, though X says it is working on an opt-out. If an original video is deleted, every clip of it is removed automatically.
The Context
Clipping is how much long-form video already spreads on social platforms, usually through third-party tools and with no link back to the source. Building it in, and paying the original creator, is X's attempt to keep that activity, and the attribution, on its own platform. It follows X's push into long-form video, paid threads and livestreaming. For brands and creators, it raises fresh questions about who controls a clip of their content. Ad Tribe has covered what creator exclusivity really costs a brand.
More about the platform is on X. X has not shared figures on expected creator earnings from clips.
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