Guide: The four counts, and the live and cleanup split
This page: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/insights/the-four-counts-and-the-live-and-cleanup-split
Topic: Insights and exports
Time: about 3 minutes
Who can do it: Anyone on your team
Author: https://anantgupta.xyz (Anant Gupta, founder of CommentWatchDog)
Start in the app: https://app.commentwatchdog.com/en/inbox/insights
Result when done: You can say exactly how many comments arrived, how many were handled and how.
Context: Four numbers describe a period: how many comments there were, how many your rules handled, how many were hidden and how many deleted. A separate section keeps one-time cleanups apart, so your live trend stays honest.

Before you start:
1. Live moderation is what happens as comments arrive; a cleanup is a sweep you started by hand.
2. They are counted separately on purpose, so a big sweep does not flatter the daily numbers.
3. The counts follow your date range.

Steps:
Step 1 of 3: Read the four counts.
Where: At the top: Total comments, Comments handled, Hidden and Deleted, with Left visible beside them.
Link: https://app.commentwatchdog.com/en/inbox/insights (Open Insights)
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/insights.en.webp (The four counts.)
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/insights-phone.en.webp (The same on a phone.)
You should see: What arrived, what was acted on, and what was left alone.

Step 2 of 3: Switch the source.
Where: Source, beside the range: All, Live moderation, or Post cleanup. Live moderation is the honest measure of what your rules do every day.
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/insights.en.webp (Source: all, live moderation, or post cleanup.)
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/insights-phone.en.webp (The same on a phone.)
You should see: The same four counts for that source alone.

Step 3 of 3: Read the cleanup section.
Where: Post cleanup, lower down: how many sweeps ran, how many posts were cleaned, and how many comments were hidden and deleted by them.
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/insights-sweeps.en.webp (The cleanup section.)
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/insights-sweeps-phone.en.webp (The same on a phone.)
You should see: One-time work kept apart from the daily trend.

If something is off:
Problem: Handled is higher than I expected
Fix: A comment counts as handled when a rule acted on it, including hiding. Switch the source to Live moderation to see the daily picture.
Problem: Deleted is zero but I deleted comments
Fix: Deletions you did by hand from the inbox are counted; check the range, and whether a sweep did them, in which case they are under Post cleanup.
Problem: Total comments looks lower than my inbox
Fix: Insights counts comments that arrived in the period, not the whole inbox.

Common questions:
Question: Why are cleanups counted separately from live moderation?
Answer: So a big sweep does not flatter the daily numbers. Live moderation is what happens as comments arrive; a cleanup is a sweep you started by hand, and CommentWatchDog keeps them apart so the live trend stays honest.
Question: What is Left visible next to the four counts?
Answer: What was left alone in the period. It sits beside Total comments, Comments handled, Hidden and Deleted at the top of Insights.
Question: Which source shows what my rules do day to day?
Answer: Live moderation. It is the honest measure of what your rules do every day. Source sits beside the range and offers All, Live moderation, or Post cleanup.

Related guides:
- Choose a date range: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/insights/choose-a-date-range
- Cleanup sweeps and Open task: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/insights/cleanup-sweeps-and-open-task
- The daily chart: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/insights/the-daily-chart

Plain text of this guide: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/insights/the-four-counts-and-the-live-and-cleanup-split.md
All guides for assistants: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/llms.txt