What is the Virality Score?
Archive's Virality Score predicts how many views a post will eventually reach and how fast, based on its current engagement data. It's designed to help you catch viral content early — so you can act on it before it peaks.
The score applies to Reels (any platform) and TikTok videos.
Note: The Virality Score is calculated for all eligible posts, but it may not be visible in your account depending on your plan. If you don't see virality data in your library, reach out to your account manager or support to learn more about availability.
The Four Tiers
Tier | What it means |
High | Strong signal. 89% of posts labeled High reach 1M+ views, and 74% get there in under 3 days. |
Medium | Growing momentum. The post is accelerating and has a good chance of going viral. |
Low | Early signal. More than half of posts labeled Low still reach 1M+ views. |
Not Viral | Not enough momentum detected at this time. |
How the Score Works
The score is based on two factors: view velocity (how fast views are accumulating) and total views so far. A post with few views but rapid growth can still score High — momentum matters as much as volume.
If a post initially looks viral but slows down, its score will drop accordingly. Posts that plateau tend to settle in the Low tier, while truly viral posts climb to Medium or High within the first 24 hours.
When Is the Score First Available?
The first score is available approximately 2 hours after Archive detects the post. It becomes significantly more reliable by 12–24 hours, as more engagement data is collected.
How Often Is the Score Updated?
The score is recalculated every time Archive collects a new engagement snapshot. The refresh schedule is based on when the post was originally published — not when Archive first detected it.
By default, snapshots are taken at:
2 hours after the post was published
24 hours after the post was published
3 days after the post was published
7 days after the post was published
After the 7-day window, Archive stops actively refreshing engagement — unless the post suddenly accelerates again (see below).
What Triggers an Extra Update?
If Archive detects a significant jump in engagement between two consecutive snapshots — more than 50 new likes or 200 new views — it will schedule one additional update within 48 hours to capture that momentum.
New Posts vs. Older Posts
How a post behaves in Archive depends on when it was published relative to when Archive detected it. This applies to all platforms — Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and others.
New posts (published within the last 7 days)
Archive follows the full refresh schedule: 2h → 24h → 3d → 7d. The virality score updates at each checkpoint and reflects real-time momentum.
Example: A Reel posted yesterday will get its first score in about 2 hours and be refreshed again at the 24h, 3-day, and 7-day marks.
Older posts (published more than 7 days ago)
When Archive ingests a post that was published more than 7 days ago, all scheduled checkpoints are already in the past. Archive will perform one engagement update when the post is added to a shop, then stop. No future automatic updates are scheduled.
The engagement metrics will reflect that single snapshot — and will not update again unless the post hits the acceleration threshold (50+ new likes or 200+ new views between snapshots) or you trigger a manual refresh.
For posts in this situation, treat the metrics as a snapshot, not live data.
Example: A post published on Feb 13 was captured by Archive on Feb 15. It wasn't assigned to a workspace until a few weeks later — by then it was already older than 7 days. Archive performed one update when it was added to the workspace, then stopped. Archive showed ~1M views (frozen at the Feb 15 snapshot) while the platform showed 4M+ views. This is expected behavior, not an error.
Why Does Archive Show Different Numbers Than the Platform?
This is the most common question about engagement data. A few scenarios where Archive's numbers may differ from what you see on the platform:
Old post, recently added to a shop: Archive performs one update when the post is added, then stops scheduling refreshes. If the post kept growing after that point, Archive won't reflect those gains automatically.
Post older than 7 days with stable engagement: The refresh schedule has ended. Archive will keep the last known figures until a new spike is detected.
Post went viral after the 7-day window: If engagement grew gradually (not a sudden spike), the acceleration threshold may not have been crossed, so no automatic update was triggered. The virality score may read lower than expected.
To get the latest numbers for an older post, use the Refresh button in the Archive UI. Note that a manual refresh updates the metrics once but does not re-enable automatic scheduling.
If you need ongoing accurate metrics for an older post, contact support.
What the Score Doesn't Cover
Content not yet in Archive: The score only applies to posts that have already been ingested. If a viral post isn't showing up in your library, that's a sourcing issue, not a scoring issue.
Unpredictable viral moments: Random cultural moments from unknown creators that haven't been detected can't be scored in advance.
Photos and carousels: The score currently only applies to Reels and TikTok videos.