Video Play Tracking
Understand which videos engage your audience most.
Overview
Video Play Tracking shows you exactly which videos your readers watch in your published stories. Track plays, completion rates, and engagement across all video types—cover videos, uploaded videos, YouTube embeds, and Vimeo embeds.
This feature is available exclusively to Business plan users.
Privacy-First Design
We built Video Play Tracking with privacy as a core principle. Here's how we protect your readers:
What We Track
✅ Play count – How many times each video is played
✅ Completion rate – Percentage of viewers who watch to the end
✅ Progress milestones – 25%, 50%, 75% completion points
✅ Device type – Desktop, mobile, or tablet (aggregated)
✅ Video label – Descriptive name for each video
What We Don't Track
❌ Personal information – No names, emails, or identifiable data
❌ IP addresses – We hash IPs immediately; raw addresses are never stored
❌ Cookies – No tracking cookies are used
❌ Cross-site tracking – We only track plays within your stories
❌ Individual viewer behavior – All data is aggregated and anonymized
How We Protect Privacy
Protection | Description |
Anonymous by default | Play events contain no personally identifiable information |
IP hashing | IP addresses are one-way hashed before storage |
No cookies | Works without setting any tracking cookies |
Author-only access | Only you can see your video play data |
Supported Video Types
Video Play Tracking works automatically with all video types in your stories:
Video Type | Source | How It's Tracked |
Cover Video | Looping video at story top | Requires 3+ seconds of watch time |
Native Video | Uploaded MP4/video files | Tracks play, progress, and completion |
YouTube | YouTube embeds | Uses YouTube IFrame API |
Vimeo | Vimeo embeds | Uses Vimeo postMessage API |
Note: Cover and looping videos require at least 3 seconds of viewing to count as a play. This prevents autoplay from inflating your stats.
How It Works
Publish your story with videos in the content
Readers watch videos while viewing your story
View stats in the Story Stats Panel
Video tracking is automatic for all Business plan members. When a reader plays a video:
The play is recorded anonymously
Playback continues with no interruption
Progress milestones are tracked (25%, 50%, 75%, complete)
The play count updates in real-time
Viewing Video Play Stats
Story Stats Panel
The fastest way to see video plays for a specific story:
Open a published story in the editor
Click Story Stats in the toolbar
View the Video Plays section
You'll see:
Total play count across all videos
Individual video stats – each video with its play count
Completion rate – percentage who watched to the end
Video type – Cover, Native, YouTube, or Vimeo
Status indicator – Shows if a video was removed (stats preserved)
Understanding Video Labels
Videos in your stats are identified by human-readable labels:
Priority | Label Source |
1st | Caption text from the photo group |
2nd | Nearest heading before the video |
3rd | Position-based (e.g., "Video 1", "Video 2") |
4th | Platform default (e.g., "YouTube Video") |
Preserved stats: If you remove a video from your story, its play statistics are kept with the original label so you don't lose historical data.
Understanding Your Video Stats
Play Count
The total number of times a video has been played. Each unique viewing session counts as one play.
Deduplication: The same viewer watching multiple times within an hour counts as one play. This prevents accidental refreshes from inflating your stats.
Completion Rate
The percentage of plays that resulted in the viewer watching to the end:
Completion Rate = (Completions / Total Plays) × 100
A higher completion rate indicates your video content is engaging and the right length for your audience.
Note: Cover videos and looping videos don't track completion since they loop continuously.
Progress Milestones
We track when viewers reach these points in your videos:
25% – Early engagement
50% – Halfway point
75% – Strong engagement
Complete – Watched to the end
Tips for Using Video Tracking
Optimize Your Content
Compare completion rates – Higher rates suggest better engagement
Test video lengths – See if shorter or longer videos perform better
Check cover video engagement – See if your hero video captures attention
Build Better Stories
Track product demos – See which products resonate with your audience
Monitor tutorial videos – Understand what educational content viewers want
Analyze embedded content – Compare YouTube vs. Vimeo performance
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Does video tracking slow down my story? A: No. Tracking uses non-blocking requests that don't affect video playback or page performance.
Q: Can I see who watched my videos? A: No. All video data is anonymous. You see aggregate counts, not individual viewer information.
Q: Does this work on mobile? A: Yes. Video tracking works on all devices and browsers.
Q: Why does my cover video require 3 seconds to count? A: Cover videos autoplay on page load. Requiring 3 seconds of watch time ensures we only count genuine engagement, not just page loads.
Q: Are YouTube and Vimeo embeds tracked automatically? A: Yes. All embedded YouTube and Vimeo videos are tracked automatically.
Q: What happens if I delete a video from my story? A: The play statistics are preserved with the original video label. The stats panel will show "Removed" next to deleted videos.
Plan Availability
Plan | Video Play Tracking |
Free | ❌ Not available |
Pro | ❌ Not available |
Pro Plus | ❌ Not available |
Business | ✅ Full access |
Upgrade to Business to unlock Video Play Tracking and see exactly how readers engage with your video content.
Need Help?
If you have questions about Video Play Tracking, we're here to help:
Email: [email protected]
Last updated: January 2026