YouTube to hide dislikes on videos from the general public

[Valin]

The Post Millennial

"The dislike count will be private across YouTube, but the dislike button will remain."

Nick Monroe

November 10, 2021

YouTube has decided to get rid of showing the dislike counter to general audiences, only making it visible to the video’s uploader. The stated hope is that users get used to it very quickly.

The company signaled their interest in this change months ago, revealing their initial foray in testing the change to the dislike button’s functionality earlier this year.

In the official blog post announcing the change, YouTube said their experiments in hiding the dislike button caused people to click it less. They also said input from "smaller creators and those just getting started that they are unfairly targeted by this behavior" went into the company’s final decision.

"We want to create an inclusive and respectful environment where creators have the opportunity to succeed and feel safe to express themselves. This is just one of many steps we are taking to continue to protect creators from harassment. Our work is not done, and we’ll continue to invest here."

(Snip)