Written by Lucy Hall and reviewed, fact-checked and signed off by a SocialDay editor before publication. Read our editorial standards and corrections policy. Spotted something wrong? Tell the newsroom.

YouTube is testing hiding the dislike button inside the three-dot menu on long-form videos, mirroring the pattern that preceded removal on Shorts. For social marketers, it's another data point disappearing from quality assessment and another reminder that platform feedback systems are built for platform goals, not yours.

YouTube is testing moving the dislike button from its position next to the like button into the three-dot overflow menu on long-form videos, according to screenshots shared by users on X and Reddit. The same pattern was used on Shorts before YouTube removed the dislike button entirely, and 9to5Google said it could not replicate the behaviour on its own devices, suggesting the test is limited to a small group of users.

The timing matters. In June 2026, YouTube removed the dislike button from Shorts and replaced the thumbs-up icon with a heart, part of what the platform framed as a simplification. YouTube removed public dislike counts in 2021 in an effort to reduce harassment campaigns targeting creators. Now the button itself is being progressively buried or stripped away.

For social media professionals running branded content on YouTube, this is a warning shot about what feedback infrastructure you can actually rely on going forward.

The dislike button isn't just sentiment theatre. It's one of the few rapid, public quality signals visible to audiences before they commit time to a video, and it's particularly critical in categories where social marketers operate most: tutorials, product reviews, explainers and comparison content.

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