YouTube will still count views on Shorts even if you scroll to skip

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YouTube is making a big change to how it counts views on its short-form video platform, Shorts. 

Starting March 31, YouTube will count a “view” every time a Short starts playing or is replayed. 

This is similar to how Instagram Reels and TikTok count views. Previously, YouTube only counted a view after a Short was watched for a certain amount of time.

This change is expected to increase the number of views creators see on their Shorts. 

However, YouTube will still track the old way of counting views under a new metric called “engaged views.” 

Engaged views measure how many times a Short is watched for a specific number of seconds. 

This metric will still be used to determine how much money a creator earns and whether they qualify for YouTube’s Partner Program, which allows them to make money from ads.

The reason for this change is to make YouTube Shorts analytics more comparable to TikTok and Instagram. 

Since many creators post their short videos on multiple platforms, this update will help them understand their reach more clearly. 

By counting views the same way across platforms, creators will get a more accurate picture of their video performance and audience engagement.

YouTube also hopes that this change will make it easier for creators to show their true reach to brands and potential sponsors. 

Higher view counts may make a creator’s content appear more popular, which could lead to better business opportunities.

Despite this update, YouTube will still provide detailed analytics, including how long people watch Shorts. 

This means that creators can still see how engaged their audience is, rather than just how many times a video was started.

This will likely result in higher view counts but won’t affect earnings or eligibility for monetization. 

The change will help creators better understand their audience and make it easier for them to compare their performance across different platforms.

What do you think about this new way to count views on YouTube Shorts? Does it affect how you use the platform? We want to hear your thoughts below in the comments, or via our Twitter or Facebook.