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YouTube will now count a view as soon as a video starts playing
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YouTube is changing its view-counting methodology to register a view immediately upon playback, a year after applying the same approach to Shorts.
Public view counts will likely increase significantly, reducing their usefulness as a popularity signal for creators and advertisers. The original metric survives as "Engaged views" in YouTube Analytics, and the change does not affect monetization eligibility.
Written by elseif from the cluster below · every claim links back to a sourceThe three things worth knowing
YouTube will count a view as soon as a video starts playing or a user enters a live broadcast, effective August 24.
The platform never disclosed its prior counting method, but it was generally understood to require at least 30 seconds of watch time.
The original view metric is retained as "Engaged views" in Analytics, and the change does not impact creator earnings or YouTube Partner Program eligibility.
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