Likes from logged in views do count, the like to view ratio is higher due to that.

A German YouTuber tested it with an unlisted video, I can’t find it as of now but I do find a lot of deleted videos in my liked ones…

Basic theory as of the time of the video is that they want to go against bot views. Short views did not decline, only long form video, and of those the people with mostly desktop views are hit the most.

Edit: found it!

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=m8DZft_zLH4&t=1s

  • morgan423@lemmy.worldEnglish
    9·
    4 days ago

    It’s not related. A bunch of different content creators across a bajillion different genres have publicly shared that it’s one specific type of view (desktop views) affected in their analytics (no other view type shows any statistical difference), and it’s acting the same way for everyone.

    It’s just not that total views are down… it’s evidence that YouTube has changed the way they are counting the views of PC viewers. Why, or exactly how, no one is sure of yet (pretty sure YouTube has been silent on it and the reasons that it is happening are all speculation).

    • AlfredoJohn@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
      14·
      4 days ago

      Yeah and first it was most of the views were definitely going down because of restricted mode despite that it was a feature used by a like a fraction of a percent of users and was over a decade old. None of the specific information getting parroted around has actually made any sense. Less people watching on desktop can also track with less people actually owning desktops or using them to watch YouTube, couple that with the fact they just got a drop of viewership and now they cant accept the common demonanator being that their videos are just getting less views

      • morgan423@lemmy.worldEnglish
        3·
        3 days ago

        Less people watching on desktop can also track with less people actually owning desktops or using them to watch YouTube

        Not what’s happening. The change can be pinpointed to an exact specific date for everyone. It’s just statistically impossible to explain that away as “fewer people are watching”

      • neclimdul@lemmy.world
        1·
        3 days ago

        I’m very skeptical of that argument.

        1. Millions of people didn’t throw out their desktops overnight.
        2. Lots of tech channels finding their core audience that’s actively supporting and often growing on platforms like patreon aren’t showing up in their metrics while fluff videos are getting picked up outside their community on mobile and "performing well“.

        So something definitely seems to be going on.

        To me, ads contributing to "views“ metrics seems the most logical since YT wants to incentivise ad watching but I have to agree it feels like every day someone has proven a new theory so it’s hard to say what exactly is going on.