YouTube is removing public dislike counts on all videos, though the dislike button will remain available for users to customize their recommendations.
This permanent change follows an experiment earlier this year where YouTube removed dislikes to see if it would help reduce “dislike attacks.”
“As part of this experiment, viewers could still see and use the dislike button. But because the count was not visible to them, we found that they were less likely to target a video’s dislike button to drive up the count. In short, our experiment data showed a reduction in dislike attacking behavior.”
According to YouTube, when users collectively dislike a video it’s a form of harassment against creators. Removing public dislike counts is designed to reduce said “harassment.”
Advertisement
Continue Reading Below
Going forward, the dislike button will remain on videos, but the amount of clicks it receives will be private.
The button is now a tool viewers can use to customize the recommendations they receive across YouTube.
Channels can see how many dislikes their videos receive, if they choose to, in YouTube Studio along with other metrics.
