YouTube has announced plans to change how it counts public views across the platform.
According to reports, the new move will affect creators worldwide, including Kenyans.
The changes will take effect from August 24 and will mean that the new system will allow views to be counted the very moment a video starts playing, right from the first frame it loads on screen.
This will serve as a major departure from how YouTube has traditionally measured views for long-form content and live streams on the platform.
YouTube updates how it counts public views across the platform
Previously, longer videos required viewers to watch for a set period before a view was recorded, unlike the looser standard used for Shorts.
In the new update, video formats will follow the same counting standard that Shorts adopted last year, creating consistency across the entire platform.
According to YouTube, the move responds to creator feedback, since many wanted a simpler way to understand their real audience reach and exposure, since the previous system, which incorporated multiple counting systems across formats, had created confusion for creators trying to track and compare their performance over time.
YouTube has clarified that creator earnings will remain untouched by this update, with payments still calculated using the existing engaged metrics rather than the new view count.
Specifically, earnings will continue to be based on “Engaged Shorts views” and “Engaged Watch Hours,” both of which creators can still track through YouTube Analytics under the Advanced Mode section.
