YouTube appears to be testing relocation of dislike button to submenu
Multiple users report the dislike button being moved from its prominent position next to the like button to YouTube's three-dots menu.
What happened
At least two users on X and one on Reddit have shared screenshots showing YouTube hiding the dislike button, with it now appearing in the three-dots submenu instead of its current placement next to the like button. The scope and rollout status of this test are unclear, and Google has not commented on the reports.
Context
Moving the dislike button to a submenu would significantly reduce friction to use it, likely decreasing how often users dislike videos. This appears consistent with YouTube's prior actions to protect creators: in 2021 the platform hid public dislike counts while keeping them visible to creators, and earlier this year removed the dislike button entirely from YouTube Shorts in favor of the three-dots menu options. The pattern suggests YouTube is progressively deprioritizing the dislike feature as a public-facing mechanism.
What's disputed
The extent of the test rollout and whether this represents a permanent change or feature experiment.