Does the YouTube export include watch time?

No. Google’s watch history has timestamps and video links but no video lengths, so watch time can only be estimated.

YouTube watch history analyzer: the big picture from Google Takeout

YouTube’s history page is a scroll of recent videos. Google Takeout gives you the whole thing as a file. ExportDecode reads it in your browser and shows which channels you watch most, how many videos and Shorts, what you rewatch, and when.

Already have the Takeout ZIP? Drop it in, or watch-history.json from the history folder.

Open the YouTube analyzer Try with sample data

How to export your YouTube watch history

Open takeout.google.com, click Deselect all, then tick YouTube and YouTube Music.
Click All YouTube data included, deselect everything and keep only history.
Click Multiple formats and set history to JSON. The default is HTML, which ExportDecode cannot read yet.
Choose Next step, pick “Export once” and a ZIP file, then create the export.
Download the ZIP when Google emails you (often minutes, sometimes longer) and drop it into the analyzer. The file is at Takeout/YouTube and YouTube Music/history/watch-history.json.

What’s inside the file

An array of entries with a title (“Watched …”), titleUrl (the video link), the channel in subtitles, a time timestamp, and the product (YouTube or YouTube Music). Entries for deleted videos have no link.

What ExportDecode shows you

Videos watched, different videos, channels, Shorts share and your busiest day
Top channels and the videos you watched again and again
A weekday-by-hour heatmap in your time zone
An estimated watch time based on an average video length you choose
CSV exports of channels and rewatched videos

Limits worth knowing

No durations. Google’s export does not include video lengths, so watch time is an estimate (Shorts are counted as 30 seconds).
Only history that was switched on and not auto-deleted can be exported.
Videos that were later removed have no link and are not counted.

Questions

My export is HTML. What now?

Repeat the Takeout steps and set the history format to JSON. It takes the same few minutes.

Is anything uploaded to ExportDecode or Google?

No. The file is processed locally in your browser tab. See the privacy walkthrough.