YouTube will start testing new interface types with hidden dislikes counter

The YouTube video service will begin testing several new interface types with a hidden dislikes counter. The company announced this on Twitter. The start date of the experiment is not named.

Testing will be conducted at the request of content creators. The developers will first test the feature on a “small group of users.” The list of countries in which testing will be available is not specified. Through this experiment, YouTube wants to know how a public counter’s presence affects the popularity of a video and its rating.

Both video rating selection buttons will remain active, and viewers will be able to use them, but the tester will only see the number of likes. Authors will still be able to track statistics, and algorithms will take into account the assessment results.

At the end of 2019, Instagram began testing a feature to hide the number of likes from users. The company said the innovation is intended to help users focus on content, not popularity.