San Francisco (HRNW) — A claim is circulating on social media that YouTube has doubled the watch-time requirement for monetization, making it harder for new creators to earn money.
However, according to YouTube’s current official monetization guidelines, the main eligibility requirement for advertising revenue remains 1,000 subscribers plus 4,000 valid public watch hours in the past 12 months, or 10 million valid public Shorts views in the past 90 days.
YouTube also states that watch time generated through the Shorts Feed does not count toward the 4,000-hour requirement. Private, unlisted and deleted videos, as well as watch time generated through certain advertising campaigns, are also excluded.
Early Monetization Option for New Creators
Under YouTube’s expanded Partner Programme, eligible creators can access certain monetization features with 500 subscribers, three public uploads within the previous 90 days, and either 3,000 public watch hours in the past 12 months or 3 million Shorts views within 90 days.
However, full advertising revenue still requires the higher threshold of 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 public watch hours, or 10 million Shorts views.
Therefore, the claim that “YouTube has doubled the watch-time requirement” is not supported by YouTube’s current official guidelines. The standard requirement for ad-revenue eligibility remains 4,000 valid public watch hours.
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Disclaimer: This report is based on YouTube’s current official monetization guidelines. The claim circulating online about a doubled watch-time requirement has not been confirmed by YouTube’s current official information. Rules may change in the future, and this report may be updated accordingly.
