How Does YouTube Count Views? (Complete Explanation)

Have you ever wondered- how does YouTube count views? If so, this is an article you'll find helpful.

Let's face it- every content creator enjoys getting views on their YouTube videos. This sometimes causes them to try and manipulate their view counts by watching their videos multiple times or paying someone to do so for them. But does this work?

In this article, you will learn:

What Counts as a View on YouTube?
Does YouTube Count Your Own Views?
Does YouTube Count Repeat Views?
Does Refreshing YouTube Add Views?

Read on and learn the correct answer to the question, "how do YouTube views work?" once and for all.

What Counts as a View on YouTube?

So, what counts as a view on YouTube? Does a viewer need to watch a video for a certain length of time for a view to be counted? Or, does simply clicking on a video and loading the watch page count as a view?

A view is counted on YouTube when a user watches a video for a minimum of 30 seconds. However, viewers do not need to watch a video for 30 seconds straight- the total watch time must be a minimum of 30 seconds.

In the past, a view occurred when a user landed on the watch page. But, many content creators exploited this by using clickbait (inaccurate thumbnails and titles) to attract clicks. So, YouTube introduced the 30-second rule that we have today.

Overall, the 30-second rule is better than the page load rule of the past. Think about it- if a viewer only watches a video for 3 seconds, did they truly watch the video? YouTube doesn't believe they did, which is why they created the system we have today.

Does YouTube Count Your Own Views?

Have you ever wondered- does YouTube count your own views? After all, wouldn't it be easier to increase your view count if you could watch your videos and have your own views register?

YouTube does count your own views. However, there is a cap on how many views will be registered when you watch your own videos. You are only able to gain a maximum of 3 views on your videos. So, if you watch a video you uploaded 4 times, only 3 views will count.

It's not hard to see why this is the case. If YouTube registered a view every time you watched one of your videos, you could watch your videos an unlimited number of times to inflate your view count.

Since this is the case, try not to watch your videos too often. After doing so 3 times, your views will stop increasing. Also, 3 views aren't going to make a huge difference regarding the performance of your videos, so don't try to boost your videos by watching all of them 3 times.

Does YouTube Count Repeat Views?

You might be wondering- does YouTube count repeat views? After all, many users tend to watch videos multiple times. If only a single view is counted for each viewer, wouldn't this hurt content creators?

YouTube does count repeat views- to a point. A maximum of 4 to 5 repeat views can be registered every 24 hours. If a viewer watches the same video 10 times within 24 hours, only 4 to 5 of their views will count.

When you think about it, it's unlikely that a single viewer will watch a video more than 4 to 5 times in 24 hours. So, it's reasonable that a maximum of 4 to 5 views would be counted and registered.

At the end of the day, this limit helps stop users from inflating their view counts artificially. If every repeat view counted, a content creator could pay an individual to watch their videos a significant number of times each day.

Does Refreshing YouTube Add Views?

At this point, you might be wondering- does refreshing YouTube add views? It would make sense if this were the case, seeing as multiple views can be counted when the same video is watched multiple times.

YouTube does add views when a watch page is refreshed. But, the video must be watched for a total of 30 seconds, and a maximum of 5 views will be registered per unique user in 24 hours.

Essentially, the same rules from other scenarios apply. Refreshing the watch page of a video does not make it possible for more than 4 to 5 views to be registered per user in 24 hours. Also, you cannot refresh the watch page of your videos and receive more than 3 views.

Remember, YouTube has gone to great lengths to ensure that view counts cannot be artificially inflated. One of the first things they would've done is put a limit on the number of views that are registered upon a page refreshing.

Conclusion

You now know what counts as a YouTube view. While gaining views and seeing your view counts go up feels great, there is a cap placed on how many views videos can gain from uploaders and viewers. So, don't try to artificially inflate your view counts- nothing will work.