Quick summary
To get public watch hours on YouTube, open YouTube Studio Analytics, set the date range to Last 365 days, and ensure all eligible videos have Public visibility so their watch time counts toward monetization requirements.
Steps
- Go to studio.youtube.com, click Analytics in the left sidebar, then set the date range to Last 365 days.
- Check the Watch time (hours) card on the Overview tab to see your current total — this figure reflects public watch time only.
- Click Content and review the Visibility column — Private or Unlisted videos do not count toward public watch hours.
- For any video that should be public, click its title to open the video details page.
- Click the Visibility dropdown, select Public, then click Save — repeat for each eligible video.
- Return to Analytics and confirm the watch time figure updates over the next 24 to 48 hours as the visibility change is processed.
