If the video count on your YouTube videos is frozen, then you may be wondering why they are stuck. Each day, millions of people who visit YouTube encounter videos that have a visitor counter that is stuck at 300, 301, 303, 305, 320 or some other another above 300. At first glance, it may appear that there is a technical glitch, but as many go onto discover a frozen video is not a technical problem, but something that happens on YouTube each day. YouTube routinely freezes videos that have more than 300 videos to make certain that views are real.
Videos That Are Frozen Can Still go Viral on YouTube
Although the visitor counter appears to be frozen, the system will continue to keep track of all the real video views videos receive. If YouTube releases the video counter, the visitor counter will be updated with all the other real views the video has received in the interim. If your video counter is currently stuck, you will be glad to know that your video can still go viral on YouTube. Your video has just been frozen by YouTube to make sure the views you receive beyond 300 views are authentic and not being generated by a bot. YouTube’s main priority is to make certain that the views are real views and not views generated by bots or other mechanical devices that are used to inflate views.
YouTube Retains The Right to Deduct Fake Video Views in The Future
Whether you have posted one video on YouTube or have a well-established YouTube channel, YouTube actively monitors videos to ferret out fake video views. Whether YouTube freezes a video immediately after receiving 300 views or not, YouTube has been known to take action later if fake views are received. In some cases, celebrities and large companies with YouTube channels have had millions of views deducted from their video counter because YouTube learned that certain videos received a large number of fake views. Now, that is not to say that these celebrities or companies are using bots, but that YouTube determined that some of the views were not authentic. Clearly, YouTube has a very low tolerance for videos with fake video views.
Fake Video Views Land People With YouTube Videos and YouTube Channels in Hot Water
By freezing videos that receive 300 or more video views, YouTube hopes to discourage people from using bots and other illegal techniques to inflate the number of views that a video receives. Although the majority of these videos will be unfrozen rather quickly, some of the videos remain frozen for a very long time. The outcome can be devastating for people and businesses that rely on their videos to generate traffic. By enacting such a policy, YouTube hopes to encourage people not to buy fake views or use bots to generate views.
Even Videos That Have Not Received Fake Views Are Frozen
YouTube freezes videos that have not received fake views just to make certain that the video has received authentic views. This means that anyone who posts a video on YouTube needs to be aware of the fact that visitor counters that reach 301 may be frozen. However, other videos may be frozen after receiving 320, 300, 303 or 305 views. Although this definitely is annoying, especially if you know that your views are legitimate, YouTube does this across the board to make sure video views are real and not fake.
Since YouTube routinely freezes videos that receive more than 300 views, people have to wait until their video is reviewed.
YouTube Unlocks Visitor Counters Once Videos Views Are Verified
YouTube understands the importance of having an active visitor counter, so that it is why it strives to unlock frozen video counters as soon as possible. While YouTube indicates that it will unfreeze visitor counters in a few hours, the time it takes for YouTube to unlock a visitor counter varies. If a video remains frozen for a longer period of time, then it is quite possible that YouTube has not been able to verify visitor views. Even videos that have been locked for a long time can be unfrozen in the future once they begin receiving real video views.
If you have recently posted a video to YouTube and have noticed that your visitor counter is frozen or stuck at 301, 305, 320, 300, 303 or some other number above 300, then chances are your video views are currently under review by YouTube. You will be glad to know that you have not been singled out and that many people on YouTube have their videos frozen by YouTube.
Update 2018
It seems that videos are no longer being stuck on these numbers, but video views may still be frozen or even removed at certain points of your campaign. We’ve seen this happening more frequently with people who buy YouTube Ads, which will lead to more scruitiny of your video’s views.
It’s important not to worry too much about your view count, and focus on producing quality content. Great content will garnish views all by itself, and if your views are stuck, they won’t be stuck for long as users continue to view and share your videos.
Mariann Morani
says:My video has still been stuck at 302 for quite some time now, does this mean this is actually how many views I have? Or is it just stuck? It’s kind of ridiculous that they do this to new videos
Crissy Scothorn
says:thank you for explaining this, it had me scratching my head lol