YouTube to change how views are counted
YouTube is changing its view-counting system so a view will register when a video starts playing, potentially sending public view totals sharply higher while keeping its existing engagement metric for creators.
YouTube is changing how it counts video views, with a new view registering as soon as a video starts playing.
The Google-owned platform said the change will take effect on August 24 and is designed to give creators a clearer picture of how many people are exposed to their content.
YouTube said in a community post: "Historically, we’ve used multiple view counting systems across different formats.
"However, we’ve heard that creators want to eliminate this metric confusion and accurately understand their true exposure."
YouTube has never publicly specified exactly how its previous view-counting system worked.
However, it was widely understood that a standard video generally needed to be watched for at least 30 seconds for a view to register.
The new system follows a similar change made to YouTube Shorts last year.
It also brings YouTube closer to rivals including TikTok and Instagram, which count views when videos begin playing.
The change could significantly increase public view counts, particularly for videos that viewers quickly abandon.
That could make headline view totals less useful when judging how engaging or popular a video really is.
YouTube will continue to provide its previous measure through its Analytics tools, where it will now be called "Engaged views".
The metric will show how many viewers continued watching rather than simply starting a video.
The company said the change will not affect creators’ earnings or their eligibility for the YouTube Partner Program.
It comes as YouTube makes other changes to its creator economy.
The platform recently announced higher requirements for new creators seeking to earn money from advertising and subscriptions, with the changes due to take effect next year.
Under the new requirements, creators will need 8,000 qualified watch hours over the previous year or 20 million qualified Shorts views within 90 days.
The current thresholds are 4,000 watch hours or 10 million Shorts views, alongside a requirement for 1,000 subscribers.
The changes have attracted criticism from creators who argue that YouTube is making it harder to enter and remain in its monetisation programme.
