YouTube on Thursday announced that the count to dislike button would no longer be visible to the viewers.
However, the creators can view the dislike counts in YouTube Studio.
Creators will still be able to find their exact dislike counts in YouTube Studio, along with other existing metrics, if they would like to understand how their content is performing.
“We are making the dislike counts private across YouTube, but the dislike button is not going away. This change will start gradually rolling out today,” the firm said in a statement.
Viewers can still dislike videos to tune their recommendations and privately share feedback with creators.
“We heard during the experiment that some of you have used the public dislike count to help decide whether or not to watch a video,” the firm added.
With this, YouTube is trying 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 the brand takes to continue protecting creators from harassment.
YouTube has also started rolling out a redesignated “New to you” tab on its platform to enable users to explore content that is not a part of the usual recommendations that show up on the home feed.
The new tab is available across mobile, desktop, and TV devices on the YouTube homepage.
“We are excited to share more details about ‘New to you’ – a feature helping you discover new creators and fresh content, beyond the recommended videos you normally see. ‘New to you is now available on the YouTube homepage across mobile, desktop, and TV devices,” the company said in a statement.
The feature is expected to help creators reach new audiences by targeting those who would be most interested in their content but would not have discovered it.