YouTube says it isn’t testing hiding the dislike button

On Tuesday, I published a story about how YouTube appeared to be testing hiding the dislike button on videos, with at least two users on X sharing screenshots of the dislike button moved into the three-dot menu. But a YouTube spokesperson, in a Wednesday statement to The Verge, confirmed that YouTube is “not testing hiding the dislike button on YouTube for users.” However, YouTube is introducing a new UI for creators on their uploaded videos where the dislike button will be moved.

Here’s the full statement, from spokesperson Kimberly Taylor:

We are not testing hiding the dislike button on YouTube for users. We’re introducing a new UI for creators on their own uploaded videos, where dislike is behind the three-dot menu, and as always, they can find their full dislike counts in Studio, alongside other analytics.

The change for creators follows past adjustments to the dislike button on the platform. YouTube hid the public dislike count on videos starting in 2021 as a way to prevent harassment, and it removed the dislike button video from Shorts earlier this year.