The short answer is yes, rewatching a TikTok video does count as an additional view for that video. When you replay a video, TikTok’s systems register it as a new view, incrementing the overall view count displayed below the video. This applies whether you are rewatching your own TikToks or someone else’s videos on the platform.
How TikTok Counts Views
TikTok has not publicly revealed the exact mechanics behind how it counts views. However, we know some key details:
- A view is counted when a user watches a video for at least a few seconds. The exact time threshold is not known.
- Views are counted on TikTok’s mobile apps and desktop site. Watching embedded TikTok videos on other sites does not add to the view count.
- Private videos also accumulate views in the same way as public videos. Only you and any friends you share a private video with can watch it and add views.
- Deleted videos retain their view counts. The view count does not get reset when a video is removed from TikTok.
Based on these facts, we can deduce that TikTok has backend analytics tracking every video view event. It likely logs the video ID, user ID, timestamp, duration watched, etc. When you finish watching a video, that event gets added to the view count if it meets the minimum duration threshold.
And here’s the key point – each play of a video counts as a distinct viewing event. TikTok’s systems do not currently deduplicate multiple plays by the same user. So rewatching a video simply generates a new viewing event, increasing the total view tally for that video.
Why Rewatched Views Matter for Creators
TikTok creators are focused on accumulating views as a key metric of video performance and audience engagement. More views typically means a video is reaching a larger audience and getting seen by more potential new followers.
While genuine views from new individual viewers are ideal, rewatches still count positively towards a video’s overall impressions. Some reasons why rewatched views help TikTok creators:
- Higher view counts can increase a video’s ranking in TikTok’s recommendation engine, potentially showing it to more new viewers.
- View milestones (10k, 100k, 1M etc) are touted as achievements by creators to showcase popularity.
- Videos with more views appear more popular and “trending” which can incentivize more users to watch.
- Creators sometimes rerun their own livestreams on TikTok to accumulate more views.
In essence, view count is an informal metric of popularity on TikTok. Rewatching videos helps inflate this metric, making videos and creators seem more popular than they might otherwise be.
How Much Do TikTok Creators Rely on Rewatched Views?
It’s unclear exactly how much of creators’ view counts come specifically from rewatches. TikTok does not provide public data on this. The proportion likely varies wildly depending on factors like:
- How long the video has been up – older videos have had more time to accumulate rewatches
- Popularity of the creator – more popular creators tend to get more rewatches
- Virality of the specific video – more viral videos get rewatched more
Some creators definitely focus on artificially inflating rewatch numbers, especially through:
- Follower requests – Creator asks followers to manually rewatch old videos
- Like/comment begging – Creator offers incentives if followers rewatch and re-engage with old videos
- Livestream replays – Creator repeatedly replays old livestreams to get more views
However, most creators likely see rewatches happen more organically from their fan base revisiting old favorites. Superfans may regularly rewatch a creator’s most popular or iconic videos over time.
In most cases, rewatched views make up a relatively small percentage of total lifetime views for a video. But the views still accumulate over time, and creators appreciate every view they can get.
Does TikTok Ever Remove Rewatched Views?
TikTok has done occasional view count purges where videos suddenly lose views overnight. While not officially confirmed, it’s presumed these purges target artificially inflated numbers from bots, fake accounts and inorganic rewatching patterns.
TikTok likely uses data science to identify view patterns that don’t seem natural. For example, a video getting rewatched hundreds of times per day by accounts with no followers or other activity. Or views spiking when a creator begs their followers for rewatches.
When TikTok determines views are artificially boosted, it may scrub those views from public counts as part of periodic purges. This underscores that authentic organic views are ultimately more valuable than empty rewatch padding.
However, occasional rewatching by real human users appears to be tolerated. As a viewer, don’t be afraid to rewatch your favorite videos as you normally would.
Other Notes on TikTok View Counts
- View counts update in real time. You’ll see them increment instantly when you watch a video.
- The view counter doesn’t discriminate between likes and dislikes. All engagements increment it.
- There is no publicly known way to see a breakdown of views by source, e.g. homepage vs. hashtags vs. searches.
- View counts never decrease (except by TikTok’s purge efforts). Each video will gradually accumulate more views over time.
- Videos only need hundreds or thousands of views to rank highly in niche hashtag categories.
In Summary
Whenever you replay a video on TikTok – whether your own or someone else’s – it adds 1 view to that video’s overall count. TikTok’s systems currently count each watch event individually. Creators appreciate every view, as higher counts can boost rankings and make videos seem more popular. Just be aware that TikTok may crack down on artificial rewatch inflation if it seems bot-driven or inorganic. But casual rewatching as a genuine user is unlikely to be penalized. So feel free to revisit and share the joy of your favorite TikTok videos as often as you like!
