### YouTube Is Modifying Its Method of Counting Views on Shorts

How many views are your YouTube videos racking up?

To fully grasp this, it’s essential to know how YouTube originally counts views. For standard YouTube videos, a view is counted once a viewer watches at least 30 seconds of the footage.

However, when YouTube launched **YouTube Shorts** four and a half years ago, it adopted an alternate approach for counting views. Rather than necessitating 30 seconds of viewing time, a view for a Shorts video was counted if a user watched for merely a few seconds. YouTube did not disclose the precise number of seconds, but it was evidently shorter than the standard for regular videos.

### YouTube Is Modifying How Views for Shorts Are Tallied

Effective **March 31, 2025**, YouTube will revise its view-counting system for Shorts. From that day onward, a view will be recorded **as soon as the video begins playing**—with no minimum viewing time necessary.

Furthermore, since Shorts videos play continuously in a loop, YouTube will log a new view each time the video replays from the start.

YouTube stated that this modification was implemented following creator input, as it offers a more precise and beneficial metric for Shorts content strategies.

### What About the Previous View Count System?

Creators who favor the old system of tracking views won’t lose access to that information. While public view counts on Shorts will reflect the new methodology, the previous metric will be rebranded as **”engaged views”** and will remain accessible in **YouTube Analytics** under “Advanced Mode.”

### What Implications Does This Have for YouTubers?

With this update, view counts for YouTube Shorts are anticipated to **rise significantly**. However, this does not inherently indicate that more individuals are viewing your content—it merely signifies that YouTube is now recording how many users **come across** your video, regardless of whether they watch it for a few seconds or not.

This transition may affect how creators assess engagement and success on YouTube Shorts, making it increasingly crucial to maintain viewer interest beyond just the initial play.