Instagram Is Testing a “Dislike” Button

Social media doesn’t seem to have a problem generating negativity on its own, so this may sound surprising at first . . .

Instagram is testing a DISLIKE button.  But it could actually be a good thing.

They claim it’s a PRIVATE “downvote” to signal that you don’t like something . . . and it’s targeted at COMMENTS, not people’s posts.

No one will see that you disliked it, and the downvotes won’t be counted and shown publicly, like on YouTube.  Instead, downvoted comments will be pushed to the bottom, or hidden altogether.

An exec says, “This is a test . . . eventually, we may integrate this signal into comments ranking to [deemphasize] disliked comments . . . our hope is that this might help make comments more friendly on Instagram.”

Again, it’s only a test right now.  Instagram’s parent company Meta has tried similar things with Facebook . . . several times . . . and they’ve come and gone without sticking. 

(Mashable)