The world of YouTube can be tricky. How does the algorithm rank videos? How can you get greater reach, more watch time, more subscribers? More of everything so you can grow your business or channel…
It gets even more complicated because YouTube’s software algorithm is a trade secret. So no one actually knows exactly what’s in YouTube’s algorithm. But don’t throw in the towel yet! Because we do know a lot about how YouTube works.
The question we’re going to answer here is, “What if people are watching your videos in Incognito mode?”
Will you still get credit for those hidden views? Will they count toward your overall video views total? And what about watch time? Will that get affected? And by the way, what even is Incognito mode?
We’re going to answer all your burning Incognito mode questions so you can understand more about how YouTube works.
If you’re growing a successful YouTube channel, but have recently wondered about this, you’ve come to the right place.
What Is Incognito Mode?
Incognito Mode is a feature from Google (which owns YouTube) that allows people to browse the web and watch videos in secret. Incognito! The benefit is that your browsing and watch history won’t show up in your history.
Users can turn on Incognito Mode in the YouTube app and watch videos in private. A YouTube help article describes it this way:
“Incognito lets you browse in a session that your account search and watch history won’t influence or reflect.”
“When you turn off Incognito, your search and watch history from your Incognito session is cleared. This means that none of your Incognito session activity will be reflected on your account. You’ll return to the last account you used before turning on Incognito. Also, if you’re inactive for more than 90 minutes, your Incognito session will end. You’ll then be returned to the last account you used. The next time you open YouTube, you’ll get a message letting you know that you’re no longer Incognito.”
“Everything you do while in Incognito mode is private. When you try to do something public like commenting or subscribing, you’ll be asked to sign in to complete that action.”
Incognito mode is a cool feature—but how will it affect your YouTube channel views? Before answering that, let’s take a quick look at how to turn Incognito mode on and off.
How Do Users Turn Incognito Mode On?
If you’re wondering how people turn Incognito Mode on—or maybe even wondering how you can use it—here’s how.
In the YouTube app, tap your profile picture in the top right of your screen. Tap Turn on Incognito. There is also a helpful little icon of what looks like a detective with a hat and glasses. Note that you have to be signed into your Google/YouTube account to use this feature. Incognito Mode lets you remain signed into the app but acts like you’re signed out so nothing is tracked.
When browsing, you’ll see a black bar at the bottom of the screen showing you that Incognito mode is on.
Does YouTube Count Incognito Views?
Ever since Incognito mode was released, people have been wondering if it affects their YouTube views. So you’re not alone in asking this question.
The short answer is yes. Thankfully, YouTube still adds up the views from people’s Incognito sessions. So people coming to your videos in Incognito mode will still count toward your overall views.
This is one last thing you need to worry about while building up your YouTube channel.
You might also be wondering if people can go into Incognito mode and watch their own video multiple times to run up their view count. YouTube can track this and based on the IP address won’t let people game the system like this. In other words, if the same user is watching a video over and over again, YouTube won’t count those as extra views.
Why Views Matter
The reason people have been concerned about Incognito mode is because views are such a huge part of YouTube’s algorithm. The number of views a video gets is a big indicator of how popular the video is, for obvious reasons.
So you’re not wrong in worrying that your views could be impacted negatively by the Incognito feature. But the team over at YouTube took this into consideration when they built the Incognito feature.
And if you’re looking for help to grow your YouTube channel, we can help! Maybe you’re trying to get more views, or trying to grow your audience and bring in new customers for your business. Raffiti Media works with companies and content creators of all sizes to help them level up their YouTube game.
Let us do the hard work of building a YouTube channel for you. Reach out today and schedule a free 1:1 consult with our team to see what kind of package we could provide for you to grow your YouTube channel.
