YouTube has among its plans to launch a new test in the coming weeks, which aims to analyze what impact can have to hide dislike count on videos.
It is not the first time that YouTube focuses on this option by analyzing the possibility of removing the dislikes, although you have never removed it from the platform.
YouTube hides the number of dislikes on videos
As mentioned by the YouTube team, they are testing different designs on the platform that hides the dislikes count on videos. The goal of this experiment is not to eliminate this button, as the idea is that users will continue to use it as a way to express themselves in videos.
However, the amount of dislikes will not be visible to users, as you can see in one of the designs shared by the YouTube team. The number of likes will be displayed, but the dislikes will not be visible to the audience.
Of course, this count will be visible to the owner of the channel, since it will appear with the rest of the interactions generated in the video, through YouTube Studio. Perhaps this new dynamic will deter trolls or decrease the number of users who give dislikes simply to add a negative count on YouTube videos.
This new system will begin rolling out within the next few weeks with a small group of users. It doesn’t seem likely that YouTube will decide to implement it permanently, as it has never taken action against the “Dislike” button beyond its intentions. But it could give them an idea of how to deal with the negative consequences of this button, and apply a dynamic that allows the “Dislike” button to exist without becoming a tool for trolls.
