Why is Public Watch Hours lower in the Earn tab than Analytics 2026?

This gap exists because the Earn tab only counts valid public watch hours that specifically qualify toward the Partner Program, while Analytics shows total watch time across everything. The Earn tab excludes Shorts, private and unlisted videos, deleted content, and views from ad campaigns — all of which Analytics still includes. It also doesn't update in real time, typically lagging 48-72 hours and syncing only periodically with verified data. If you've recently deleted or privated any videos, Analytics may still reflect that older data temporarily while the Earn tab has already subtracted it. For monetization eligibility purposes specifically, the Earn tab is always the accurate number to track.