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. Rather than following a fixed timetable, Archive uses an adaptive schedule that tracks how much a post is still growing — so the posts gaining the most traction are checked the most often.
Here's how it works:
The first refresh happens about 2 hours after the post is published.
On each refresh, Archive compares how much the post has gained — likes, comments, views, shares, and plays — since the previous check.
If the post is still gaining significant engagement, Archive keeps checking on a tight schedule.
As the growth slows down, Archive gradually spaces the checks out — roughly doubling the gap each time (about a day, then ~2 days, ~4, ~8, and so on).
Once a post has clearly gone quiet, Archive stops refreshing it automatically.
In short: a post that keeps climbing stays on the fast schedule, while a post with a single early spike that then goes quiet is checked less and less. The virality score reflects this momentum, but it's the actual engagement growth — not the score label itself — that decides how often Archive checks a post.
This refresh cadence applies to all post types that have engagement to track — Reels, TikTok videos, YouTube videos, and Instagram Feed posts, including photos and carousels. Photos and carousels are refreshed on the same adaptive schedule (driven by their likes and comments); they simply don't receive a virality score, which needs video view velocity. Instagram Stories are the exception — they aren't refreshed on this schedule.
A few platform-specific exceptions:
YouTube follows a fixed weekly cadence rather than the adaptive one.
TikTok Stories are refreshed at ~4, 12, and 23 hours after posting, then freeze when the Story expires.
What If a Post Takes Off Again Later?
If a post that had slowed down re-accelerates — a meaningful jump in engagement between two consecutive checks — Archive tightens the cadence again to capture the new momentum. You can also force an update at any time with the Refresh Metrics button on the post.
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 adaptive schedule, starting about 2 hours after publication and adjusting the cadence based on how the post is growing. The virality score updates at each check and reflects real-time momentum.
Example: A Reel posted yesterday gets its first score in about 2 hours, then keeps getting checked frequently as long as it's still gaining engagement.
Older posts (published more than 7 days ago)
When Archive ingests a post that was published more than 7 days ago, it performs one engagement update when the post is added to a workspace, then stops. No future automatic updates are scheduled.
The metrics will reflect that single snapshot — and won't update again unless the post re-accelerates with a significant jump in engagement, 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, but wasn't assigned to a workspace until weeks later — by then it was already older than 7 days. Archive performed one update when it was added, 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.
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 virality score currently only applies to Reels and TikTok videos (it needs video view velocity). Photos and carousels are still captured and refreshed like any other post — they just don't get a score.