YouTube update: Google tests hiding the dislike counter from public viewers, and many users don’t find it helpful

The dislike button is one of the distinct features YouTube offers on its desktop and mobile platforms. Now, Google is testing a potential update that would hide the total count of dislikes videos get.

Why Google plans to hide YouTube’s dislike counter

Google announced on Tuesday that it has started testing hiding the dislikes count in a “small experiment.” The company did not elaborate on how it chose the users included in the experiment. The ongoing trial introduces a new design where the word “Dislike” is displayed under the thumbs down button instead of a number.

Anyone who finds this design on their YouTube accounts is part of the experiment. Google also confirmed there is no way to opt-out of the trial at the moment.

The YouTube owner implies this design could be just one of the possible ways to tweak the way the dislike button is presented and used. Meanwhile, Google is still quite non-commital on whether or not this is going to be released as an official update in the future and said it initiated the experiment “in response to creator feedback around well-being and targeted dislike campaigns.”

“We're testing designs that don’t include the visible like or dislike count in an effort to balance improving the creator experience, while still making sure viewer feedback is accounted for and shared with the creator,” Google explained in a community forum post. What Google definitively said in a brief FAQ is that the dislike button will not be removed.

Google also confirmed, in the current design, that creators will still be able to view the number of dislikes their videos get, which is one part that confuses YouTube users and creators responding to the announcement. People commenting on Twitter and Google’s community forum posts are asking how this design could curb the negative effects on creators facing “targeted” campaigns if they can still see the number of dislikes on their videos.

Two of the most disliked YouTube videos are YouTube Rewinds

While Google proceeds with the dislike button experiment, some YouTube users also took the time to pull some jokes. Some netizens suggested that this might be the company’s way to hide the “failure” of its YouTube Rewind videos.

In Digital Trends’ list of most disliked YouTube content published earlier this week, two YouTube Rewind videos made it to the top five. “YouTube Rewind 2019: For the Record” is placed fifth with more than 9.3 million dislikes, while the “YouTube Rewind 2018” took first place for garnering more than 18.67 million dislikes.

Featured photo by Szabo Viktor on Unsplash