YouTube Hides Shorts Dislike Button Again, Changes Like Icon to Heart

YouTube has resumed A/B testing on the user interface of its short-form video platform, Shorts. This test could have a direct impact on the feedback channels users have regarding the repeat content and low-quality AI-generated content that have been a growing concern.

The change surfaced after user Mrs_Hersheys posted a screenshot on the r/YouTube subreddit. Following a report by Android Authority, Android Police confirmed the details. Google conducted similar tests in 2024 and 2025, making this the third attempt.

Details of the UI Changes

Two main changes have been confirmed so far.

First, the “Like” (thumbs-up) icon, which was positioned at the top of the sidebar, has been replaced with a “heart” icon. This heart icon closely resembles Instagram’s “like” button visually, making it a design more suited to casual engagement on short-form videos. The functionality itself remains the same as the previous like button, and it counts toward the video’s rating.

Second, and more importantly, the “Dislike” (thumbs-down) button has been completely removed from the primary section of the sidebar. Where it used to appear alongside Like, Dislike, Comments, Share, and Remix, the dislike button is now gone from the sidebar and instead moved inside the three-dot menu. Users who wish to give a dislike must first open that menu, an additional step.

User comments on Reddit indicate that this change has not been rolled out to all users at once. The Android Police reporter stated that they have not seen the UI change on any of their clients—Android, iOS, or Web. The update likely represents an ongoing phased A/B test.

Past Precedents and Current Outlook

This is not the first time YouTube has taken such a step with the Shorts dislike button. The company conducted similar tests in 2024 and again in 2025. Each time, the implementation details varied, but strong user backlash prevented permanent adoption. Android Police’s report notes that this change may not stick either.

What distinguishes this test from previous ones is the replacement of the like button with a heart icon. This move suggests an intention to unify the overall Shorts UI with a more social-media-like appearance. Meanwhile, some have pointed out that the combination of a heart icon and a dislike button is visually mismatched, raising the possibility that the dislike button itself could be replaced with a different design—such as a broken heart icon—in future tests.

Evaluation Systems on Competing Platforms

When considering this UI change, the trends of competitors provide important context. TikTok offers a dislike button, but its count is visible only to the user by default. Instagram Reels does not have a dislike button at all; users can only provide feedback through the heart icon for likes, comments, or a “Not interested” option.

YouTube’s current test can be seen as an attempt to align Shorts more closely with TikTok and Reels—interfaces focused on positive engagement. By removing negative feedback from the main interaction path, the platform aims to keep the overall tone light.

Impact on Algorithms and the Creator Economy

This change goes beyond a simple design refresh; it directly involves the platform’s quality assessment mechanism.

The dislike button is the most direct signal for users to tell the platform “this content is not to my liking.” Recommendation algorithms use this signal as training data to avoid showing similar content to the user. If leaving a dislike becomes cumbersome, users are likely to skip the effort and not evaluate at all.

As a result, the signals that help prevent the spread of repeat content and low-quality AI-generated content would weaken, making algorithm tuning more difficult. This carries the risk of amplifying the user dissatisfaction that already exists on Shorts—namely, “the same kind of content keeps appearing.”

On the other hand, from a creator’s perspective, a flood of overt dislikes can be a major psychological burden, especially for newcomers. The same logic that led YouTube to hide the public dislike count on regular videos may now be applied to Shorts.

Editorial Opinion

Short-term impact: If this UI test is rolled out on a large scale, the number of dislikes on Shorts will certainly decrease. However, user frustration over reduced usability is likely to surface on social media. As with the previous two tests, Google may face pressure to reverse the policy. Given the current strong user distrust of Shorts’ algorithm, shrinking explicit feedback channels poses a risk to platform trust.

Long-term perspective: Over a longer horizon, this may signal a turning point in platform governance models. That is, a shift from a model that relies on explicit user evaluations (overt data) to one centered on implicit user behavioral data (e.g., watch time retention, tap patterns, exit behavior). If this transition succeeds, it could enable harder-to-manipulate, more accurate personalization. However, the user’s ability to understand the system and actively control it would be significantly reduced.

Editorial question: Does a design choice to “hide” user feedback mechanisms contribute to the long-term health of the content ecosystem? Through this test, Google is examining whether the algorithm can function appropriately without explicit feedback. The results will provide important clues for the design philosophy of recommendation algorithms on all future content platforms.

References

• YouTube is hiding the Shorts dislike button (again) – Android Police—Published June 9, 2026
• r/YouTube subreddit