One of the most significant changes on YouTube in recent years has undoubtedly been the introduction of the Short format: vertical videos designed to compete with Instagram and TikTok, which dominate this type of content.
While classic horizontal videos are designed to offer long content and to build loyalty among subscribers, shorts are an excellent tool for quickly reaching a large number of users.
For example, shorts are often used by creators to publish small excerpts, then referring to the full video, also taking advantage of the native “Related Video” feature.
It’s important to know that recently YouTube has made a change to the view count of shorts.
In fact, starting from March 31, 2025: views will count the number of times a Short starts playing or is replayed, without any minimum viewing time requirement.
How the OLD view count for shorts worked: only “engaged” views were counted, i.e., when a viewer consciously decided to watch the Short for at least a few seconds (e.g., stopping on the video instead of immediately scrolling away).
How the NEW view count for shorts works:
- Counts every playback start, even if it lasts very briefly.
- Also counts repeated plays of the same Short.
- Doesn’t require a minimum viewing time.
Let’s look at a practical example!
For a certain time period examined, this short totaled:
- 455 engaged views (old counting method)
- 1156 total views (new counting method)
What does this mean?
The 1156 views represent all the times the video was started, even if just for a moment.
The 455 engaged views, on the other hand, indicate how many people actively chose to watch it.
Interpretation: this means that about 39% of people who saw the Short start showed a minimum of real interest, stopping to watch it.
Remember that data analysis is fundamental! We invite you to read our article on “YouTube Analytics – Advanced Mode” to learn more!
