YouTube announced in a blog post on Wednesday that starting in August, the platform will abbreviate public-facing subscriber counts, meaning that only YouTube creators will have access to their own precise subscriber counts.

YouTube said in the blog that the goal of the change was to create "consistency" on the platform, since the "subscribe" button on channels already shows abbreviated subscriber counts. But a YouTube spokesperson said in an email that once the change takes effect, third parties such as Social Blade—a social media analytics platform known for its live subscriber count tool—won't be able to host live subscriber counters.

The change will affect YouTube API Services, which can be used by third parties like Social Blade to offer services like live subscriber count analytics for any YouTube channel. Historically, the tool gave third parties access to precise subscriber count information that made live subscriber charts possible.