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Glossary / Video metrics

Thumbstop ratio.

Short answer

Thumbstop ratio is the share of impressions where someone stopped scrolling long enough to watch three seconds of a video ad: 3-second video plays divided by impressions. Most teams treat it as the same metric as hook rate.

Also called: thumbstop rate, thumb-stop rate

The formula

Thumbstop ratio = 3-second video plays / impressions

Acme Watches tests two first frames for the same video. Version A opens on the watch at rest: 40,000 impressions, 11,200 three-second plays, a 28.0% thumbstop ratio. Version B opens on a hand snapping the clasp shut: 41,500 impressions, 15,355 plays, 37.0%. The motion in frame one stopped more thumbs.

Why it matters

The name comes from the physical act it measures: a thumb stopping mid-scroll. It is worth knowing because agencies, tools and reports use different names for the same idea. Some calculate it with 2-second plays or all video plays, which makes the number bigger, so confirm the definition before you compare.

How to improve it

Work on the first frame and first line: movement, a face, high contrast, on-screen text that names a problem. Since you only control what happens before the thumb moves on, test openings while keeping the rest of the video the same.

Thumbstop ratio in Fovea

Fovea reports this ratio as hook rate, computed from Meta's 3-second plays and impressions synced each night, and keeps the history for every ad so you can see when an opening stops stopping people.

See Winners →

Questions, answered.

Is thumbstop ratio a Meta metric?+

No. It is a ratio marketers compute from Meta's 3-second video plays and impressions columns.

Does thumbstop ratio apply to static ads?+

Not directly. Static ads have no video plays, so teams use CTR or engagement to judge whether a still image stops the scroll.

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Fovea tags every hook, angle and transcript on upload and keeps hook rate, hold rate and ROAS beside each linked creative.

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