TikTok and YouTube Shorts retention: where to see it, what to fix
6 min read ·
TikTok, YouTube Shorts and Reels look like the same format, and mostly they are: short vertical video in a feed where people swipe to the next one the moment they lose interest. So the question that matters is the same on all three: at which second did people leave, and what were you saying at it?
What changes is where each platform shows that data and a few details about how to read it. This guide covers both.
Where to see retention on TikTok
Open the video on your profile and go to its analytics (you can also see everything in TikTok Studio). Besides views and average watch time, TikTok shows the percentage of people who watched the full video and a retention graph: how many people were still watching at each moment. Menu names change from one version of the app to another, but the graph is the one that starts high and goes down from left to right.
Where to see retention on YouTube Shorts
In YouTube Studio, open the Short and go to its analytics. Two things matter here:
- The split between people who viewed and people who swiped away. It's a snapshot of your hook: the more people swipe away right away, the less the opening is holding.
- The audience retention graph, second by second, just like on Reels and TikTok.
One detail that confuses people: on Shorts, the video starts over on its own when it ends. Rewatches count again, so retention can go above 100% at some points. That's not a bug: it means that part made people watch it again.
How to read the curve on both platforms
You read it the same way as on Reels. Every curve goes down; what matters is the shape of the descent.
- A sharp drop in the first seconds: the hook didn't hold. People saw the opening and found no reason to stay.
- A step in the middle: something at that second made people leave. A pause, a line that drags, a change of subject, a static image.
- A smooth, steady decline: there's no single problem; the overall pacing may be slow.
- A rise at some point: people going back to rewatch. It's usually the most interesting part, and a hint of what to move closer to the start.
From the second of the drop to the line
Neither platform tells you why people left. You find that out by matching the second of the drop with the video: note where the curve falls hardest, pause the video a little before it and listen to the line you were saying. Also consider the line before and the line after, because the graph is approximate.
A drop at 3 seconds on TikTok, and at 3 seconds you were saying: "Before we start, let me explain something". The likely fix is cutting that explanation and opening with what the viewer gets.
Posted the same video on all three? Compare the curves
A lot of creators post the same video to Reels, TikTok and Shorts. That's an advantage: three curves for the same content. If all three drop at the same second, the problem is in the video, not the platform. That's the part worth editing first.