Learn About YouTube’s Hype Points

What is “Hype” on YouTube…

Please welcome St. Maris… the AI assistant for Slag Tag Media where she is going to tell you what all the HYPE is all bout.

Hype is a fan-powered visibility feature on YouTube that lets viewers support emerging creators by “hyping” a video they love.

When viewers hype a video, it earns Hype points. which can help the video climb a special weekly leaderboard and get more exposure on the platform.

👥 Who Can Receive Hype - Only channels in the YouTube Partner Program (YPP) with fewer than 500,000 subscribers are currently eligible. Lets say that again… You must be in the YouTube Partner Program, which means at least ONE of these: 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 valid public watch hours (past 12 months) OR 1,000 subscribers and 10 million Shorts views (past 90 days)

🔑 Important clarification - There is no extra subscriber minimum beyond YPP. As soon as you’re approved into YPP and under 500,000 subscribers, you can receive Hype points (if the feature is available to you) Creators must be in good standing (no active strikes, complying with guidelines).

Followers - 🎯 What Videos Are Eligible. Only new long-form uploads (typically within the first 7 days after publishing) can receive Hype points.

⭐ Viewer Limit - Each viewer can hype up to 3 different videos per week. Videos with hype points get placed on a ranked leaderboard in the Explore section, which can attract new viewers who might not otherwise find the video.

🏷 Hyped Badge - Hyped videos show a special “hyped” badge across YouTube, Signaling trending support from fans.

💥 Small-Creator Boost - YouTube gives bonus points to smaller channels, so creators with fewer subscribers get a bigger growth lift from each Hype.

📊 Analytics - Creators can track Hype performance via YouTube Studio with new Hype analytics cards and weekly recaps.

🛠 Why It Matters - Hype isn’t paid promotion — it’s fan engagement that helps videos rise on YouTube’s discovery paths beyond likes and shares. It gives smaller channels a new growth lever in a platform dominated by algorithmic pushes. Fans become more invested and feel like they’re part of a creator’s success story.

📍 Quick Eligibility Checklist
✅ Channel is in YouTube Partner Program
✅ < 500,000 subscribers or less
✅ Video is a new public upload (usually within 7 days)
✅ No active community guideline strikes
✅ Available in your country (rolled out in ~39 countries)

For those of you not enrolled in the YouTube Partner Program to receive Hype points from others, you should get your own Hype points per day to share on your favorite videos.

Learn more on YouTube.com - Thank you for watching.

This video is being released January 2026 and over time some of these detail may change or be updated.

Thanks - The Slag Tag Media Team.