Unique viewers data

See unique viewers and their average views

You can use "Unique viewers" data to get a clearer picture of your audience size, or the estimated number of different people who came to watch your videos over a given time period. Whether they watch on a computer or mobile, or watch more than once, that person counts as one unique viewer. The data is provided as an estimate.

Note that these metrics are meant to give a general sense of your audience and reach. You can review your other channel and video metrics to get an overview of your performance.

The data measures the total reach of a video by accounting for cases when people may watch content on different devices or when multiple people share the same device. The system includes data from all devices and includes both signed in and signed out traffic to estimate the number of viewers.

To ensure data quality, the total number of unique viewers is available for time periods of up to 90 days. You can compare different 90-day timeframes to see changes over time. Data for unique viewers is available from August 1, 2017.

De-duplicating repeat views

To calculate unique viewers, we use statistical models that account for user behavior to de-duplicate the audience across sessions, devices, and networks. For example, if the same viewer watches some videos from your channel over a few days, a unique viewer would be counted for every video they watched, but they would only count as one unique viewer for the channel.

See your Unique viewers data in YouTube Studio

  1. Sign in to YouTube Studio. If you haven't tried the beta, learn more.
  2. In the left menu, click Analytics.
  3. At the top, click the Reach or Audience tabs and you'll see a card for Unique viewers.

How to use data on Unique viewers 

Use these tips on a computer to get the most out of your data:

Set the date range
You can change the number of days you want the data to show by using the drop-down menu or calendar in the top-right of the report. For example, the last 7 days or the last 90 days. Unique viewer data is available from August 1, 2017.
Look at data for specific videos
Keep in mind that we use statistical models that account for user behavior to de-duplicate one audience across sessions, formats, networks, and devices across videos and channels.
See how much a unique viewer has watched
You can use the “Average views per viewer" metric to understand more details about your viewers. Depending on whether you look at your entire channel or an individual video, you can see: 
  • How many views correspond to a unique viewer on average from your channel (this can be different videos or the same video)
  • How often a video is watched on average during the selected time period

 FAQ about unique viewers

How can I use this data? 
Some ways you can use the data about "Unique viewers":
  • See how much, on average, a unique viewer has watched on your channel by looking at the  “Average views per viewer” metric. This tells you how much each person is engaging with your content, on average.
  • Compare your audience size to your subscriber base and identify videos that helped you tap into a wider audience beyond your subscribers.
  • Identify cases where your video appealed to a new audience base by comparing your channel’s unique viewers before and after publishing the video.
  • Use this info to guide your content strategy and show brands when negotiating brand integration or sponsorship deals.
Why do I see fewer unique viewers than when I add up viewers for all my videos?
On the channel level, we’re de-duplicating viewers that have watched the videos on your channel. This means that if a viewer watches more than one video on your channel, it will show as a unique viewer for each of the videos. However, those views will be combined into one unique viewer for your channel.
Why do I have fewer unique viewers than my number of subscribers?
Subscribers number is not the most accurate way to estimate the size of your audience. Viewers, on average, are subscribed to dozens of channels and might not return for every new upload for every channel they're subscribed to.
If you have fewer unique viewers than subscribers, this may be because your subscribers don't have channel notifications turned on or aren't immediately watching your newest uploads.
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