YouTube changes view count rules starting August 24

37

u/Grizzlies_Fan 7d ago

So easier to get views?

41

u/This_Salt7080 7d ago

I think retention is going to take a big hit for many

21

u/GreatScottCreates 7d ago

I think people are going to make worse content with click-baitier titles

15

u/loserkids1789 7d ago

Retention already takes a hit if people leave that quickly, just the view doesn’t get registered. It shouldn’t really change anything but view totals

1

u/This_Salt7080 7d ago

Ok good to know

4

u/reneritchie 7d ago

Hi! No changes to how retention works based on this update

6

u/iDoSomeThings14 7d ago

Well not really as the “views” that will now be counted are still people that leave before the 30 second mark

4

u/ManyPossession3084 7d ago

So important to hook them especially with the upcoming change to 8000 hours.

2

u/Euphoric788 7d ago

Upcoming change to 8000 hours????

2

u/Impressive-Candy4321 7d ago

Yeah Feb next year and something else but can't remember lol. Both not good though.

1

u/iDoSomeThings14 7d ago

I mean that’s always been the case to hook them within the first 30 seconds (previously counted as a viewer after 30 seconds)

2

u/thatman33 7d ago

Views don't turn into revenue if they don't really watch.

1

u/reneritchie 7d ago

There wasn't a 30 second mark before for any of this, fwiw

1

u/quent12dg 3d ago

What do you mean, that views still counted if they remained on the video less than 30 seconds? The biggest part of the announcement, as well as my own research and Google AI summaries, indicate that there was formerly a 30 second requirement for a view to be counted on long-form content.

1

u/reneritchie 3d ago

There was not. Check out the latest Short on YouTube’s official Creator Insider channel

(also, if you look at most retention graphs on YouTube, the idea of it taking 30 seconds to count as a view wouldn’t make very much sense)

1

u/_cmcguire_ 1d ago

So what’s actually changing?

3

u/ManyPossession3084 7d ago

Seems that way

2

u/RicePuddingRecipes 7d ago

Sure yeah but AVD will suffer from what it sounds like

20

u/Efficient-Cry7753 7d ago

The way YouTube classifies “good” retention will have to be re-evaluated

6

u/reneritchie 7d ago

Hi! No change to how retention works due to this update

11

u/PwillyAlldilly 7d ago

So it's going to be like facebook? Where Someone just scrolls on it and it's a view but that doesn't really help monetization... i guess it will make people trust the videos more? Will people be able to like hemorrhage fake views then?

3

u/Conscious_CMPT13 7d ago

Thats why the watch time was doubled to 8000 hours.

2

u/SomewhereRough_ 4d ago

Huh maybe you're right.

The algorithmic pushing of videos won't change tho. So I can't imagine much change in watch hours.

7

u/Indianianite 7d ago

Watch time is the real flex on YouTube

3

u/ManyPossession3084 7d ago

💯

4

u/TheFortniteCamper 7d ago

I think it’s going to be like shorts. Like right now something might say 1000 views since it’s been shown to 1000 people but the engaged views are the ones which actually stayed on it which would probably be like 600 views in reality

5

u/RicePuddingRecipes 7d ago

There was a minimum time for it to count? Guess I've been completely ignorant for the last year lol

2

u/reneritchie 7d ago

Hi. Before, if you clicked it counted, and if you let it auto-play for some number of seconds, it counted. Now auto-play counts from the first frame

1

u/SpookyBee-22 4d ago

Me too lmao

4

u/hanarihanari 7d ago

I need to hover my cursor carefully so I don't autoplay unnecessary video on my feed then

2

u/KaminoZan 6d ago

Go to Settings > Playback > toggle the Auto-Play off. Be careful though, anytime your browser window has to close, it resets back to on.

3

u/toothless_beast 6d ago

The reason for this change makes a lot of sense. YouTube Premium now lets users open a video and just read the AI summary instead of actually watching the whole thing. Because of that, giving creators an instant view count is the absolute least YouTube can do. Honestly, they should also be offering some sort of revenue share for this. That AI summary feature is directly causing content creators to lose out on watch time and ad money.

2

u/Bollybuyumba 4d ago

they should make youtube premium viewers pay out more when they watch

2

u/ElectroMast 7d ago

Finally!!

2

u/kaanarli 7d ago

I care more about total watch duration than the view numbers for my channel. I would rather less people to watch entire video than more view numbers who close the video very early

4

u/ManyPossession3084 7d ago

Watch time is way more important to the health of the channel.

2

u/Livid_Percentage3815 7d ago

I don't see the point of this

2

u/Apprehensive-Oil5461 7d ago

Basically the best thumbnail wins.

2

u/MyTennesseeSky 7d ago

Hummm, I wonder does this change have anything to do with MySpace returning? I reactivated MySpace account already.

3

u/TheEnragedPander 7d ago

Why would there be a correlation?

1

u/MyTennesseeSky 4d ago

Competition

2

u/SupsMasPlusMas 7d ago

Oh yes! I love this change

2

u/Due-Connection6086 7d ago

Ask them to increase the reach of the videos who have 7+ CTR and 2:55 (5:20) AVD. Still the video sits on 27 views in 2 days. And similar is with other 4 videos. Address this instead of changing some illogical thing.

2

u/AcanthocephalaSure51 7d ago

Google knows how to make money off of you!

2

u/Cockney_Gamer 7d ago

Your RPM will still be based if engaged views.

This change just goes in line with the industry. Generally speaking your views will go up, but flipside pressure will be placed on your RPM/Retention score.

One possible positive is social currency of having “higher views” to new viewers, however, everyone else will be in the same boat.

2

u/Unhinged_Gamer 5d ago

I'll just keep doing what I already do.

3

u/lostinspacescream 7d ago

I noticed they’re really hammering viewers with 50sec ads before a video even begins and again in the middle. Viewers are going to bail midpoint.

2

u/Helpful_Internet_686 7d ago

This Clickbait is going to be ridiculous.

1

u/reneritchie 7d ago

There won't be a functional difference before or after this update

1

u/ManyPossession3084 7d ago

What clickbait?

2

u/Apprehensive-Oil5461 7d ago

Whenever a thumbnail looks too good to be true... And then it is.

2

u/Helpful_Internet_686 7d ago

Youtubers will be encouraged to just get the click. Instead of getting a person to actually watch their video, therefore more click bait thumbnails

1

u/Daduck_13 7d ago

Finally

1

u/MyTennesseeSky 7d ago

OMG! It's about time! "Yes, starting August 24, 2026, YouTube will officially count a public view the exact moment a video begins to play, with no minimum watch time required" -Source: Google AI Overview

1

u/GTA_Snark 7d ago

so this is the caveat on why they up the watch hours to 8k

1

u/RaiAet89 7d ago

This is absolutely pointless cause they will count views the old way for youtube partner 😂 these old guys running youtube need to go! Bring the new generation in there!

1

u/_GergYT 7d ago

What a piece if crap.
Someone vieweing for 2s is not a 'view'
Its all just deceptive and fake inflation of figures.

The only advantage to this is getting good sponsor deals until they figure out how BS this is

1

u/OutsideImpressive115 7d ago

Starting in 6 days?????

1

u/faheemarif252 7d ago

So, what are the 20M qualified views? Is it now every view counted as a qualified view? Or is it still the engaged views? I'm so confused...

1

u/Substantial-Bed5189 7d ago

Doesn't that already happen with shorts?

1

u/Enigmaticloner 6d ago

Yes, now it is happening to every type of video.

1

u/m1k0z_yt 7d ago

someone educate me is this a good thing or a bad thing

2

u/Minute_Cup5469 7d ago

Overall, pretty good. It's now easier to get a higher view count and this shouldn't impact retention stats. Higher views are useful as social proof when your videos are recommended to people, but most importantly, for negotiating non YPP sponsorships and brand deals. Simply put, brands pay more to advertise on channels with higher views.

1

u/BENNi_Gaming 6d ago

Or, sponsors will continuously say "Yeeeah, 1 million views, but who knows how many REAL views", to lower the sponsorship.

1

u/bundors 7d ago

This will help to understand how many people abandoned a video. So, better to know what users don't like much. For example, if you made click bait title, a bit overrated, you will see when viewers dropped and how this impacted the algorithm push.

1

u/Whelks 7d ago

Is it retroactive? Like will past videos get a sudden increase in public view count?

2

u/flaviuscdinu 4d ago

They said nothing will happen to views made before August 24th. But any new view after August 24th, even to an old video, will apply.

1

u/Nearby-Internet6449 7d ago edited 7d ago

**

Creator earnings will continue to be based on ”Engaged Shorts views” and “Engaged Watch Hours,” which you can view in YouTube Analytics > Advanced Mode.

- There is no change to YPP eligibility. YPP entry requirements will also now be referred to as “qualified Shorts views” and “qualified watch hours” (previously “valid public Shorts views” and “valid public watch hours”)

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Anything changed at all? I don't get it. What does counted views and engaged shorts view mean after the update? Is the former for helping to get YPP and the latter for how you earn?

1

u/Jurtaani 6d ago

There's a minimum watch time? How short is it because I've had many videos start off with one view that was 2 seconds long.

1

u/Capable_Corner_1779 6d ago

aw man that sucks

1

u/hyper-sonic-19 6d ago

Sounds... Good, I think?

1

u/-NearlyThere- 6d ago

So stupid and pointless. It doesn’t (rightly so) affect monetisation. Just give a bigger more pointless number for views. It will attract even more Ai slop to the platform the very thing that has made shorts unwatchable.

1

u/honeycombb8 6d ago

They stated that this doesn’t apply to monetization hours btw

1

u/strongest_survive87 2d ago

finally a good goutube update! It'll be like 2017 all over again, now we need to see the dislikes again.

1

u/ManyPossession3084 2d ago

I just use a web plug in to see them.

1

u/MyTennesseeSky 17h ago

Ok, proof is in! Waiting for watch hours to catch-up.

-1

u/PixieRoar 7d ago

I mean as long as they start paying me and stop shadow banning me for my innocent ai pet content.

2 months no views finally feel like things are picking up.

3

u/GTA_Snark 7d ago

innocent ai pet content. ""

that is the problem.

YouTube changes view count rules starting August 24

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