Beginning March 31, YouTube will change how it counts views on Shorts videos to match industry standards.
Under the current system, YouTube only registers a view after a Short has been watched for a minimum number of seconds.
The upcoming change will count a view whenever a Short starts to play or replay, with no minimum watch time requirement.
YouTube will preserve its current way of counting views under the new name “engaged views.”
No Change To Monetization
Although this change may result in higher view counts, it will not bring creators closer to achieving monetization status.
YouTube confirms this change will not affect YouTube Partner Program (YPP) eligibility or earnings, as both will be based on “engaged views.”
For creators seeking YPP membership, the requirements remain unchanged:
- 1,000 subscribers with 4,000 valid public watch hours in the last 12 months, OR
- 1,000 subscribers with 10 million valid public Shorts views in the last 90 days
Looking Ahead
After March 31:
- The new Shorts views metric will be displayed wherever Shorts views are currently shown.
- The “engaged views” metric will be available in YouTube Analytics’ Advanced Mode only.
For performance comparison, YouTube advises using engaged views when comparing content published before March 31 for a consistent analysis.
See the full announcement below:
