It’s been years since YouTube made the dislike numbers unavailable to the public, a feature they removed in 2021 after being a staple of the platform for a long, long time. The main reason behind this change was to ward off dislike bombs and dislike attacks, trying to make the content creators on the website feel safer. However, many people theorize other reasons for this decision as well, one which might seem funny as well. Despite the time that has passed, people still feel the need to know how to see the number of dislikes on YouTube videos. There is no official way on how to view YouTube dislikes, unless you are a content creator, but there are some third party extensions and checkers which claim to provide you with the dislike number. In this article, we’ll discuss the impact of this change, show you how to see dislikes on YouTube, and see if these third party extensions and checkers actually work.
Negative Impact on Today's Society
YouTube implemented the like and dislike options back in 2010, a time when social media and being chronically online weren’t as big as they are today. Fast-forward to now, with the rise of social media and electronics becoming an addiction most of us are suffering from, we have started to witness the darker side of online interactions: cyberbullying. Spreading hate on the internet has become a significant issue, and the dislike button, by its very nature, could easily be weaponized to express hate.
Take, for example, Rebecca Black’s “Friday” song. It went viral not because people loved it, but because they didn’t. The huge number of dislikes it got made people curious, and they joined in to continue the hate. Now, imagine being the person getting all this negativity online. It’s tough to deal with such an overwhelming amount of hate.
Another set of videos that got a lot of dislikes were the YouTube Rewind videos, but we’ll talk more about that later. The point is, the dislike button, meant to give feedback, or just to let the algorithm know not to suggest similar videos with the ones you dislike, often added to a culture of negativity and bullying. YouTube’s decision to hide public dislike counts was a big step in trying to reduce online hate.
Why Content Creators Can Still See the Number of Dislikes
Even though YouTube has hidden the public dislike counts, content creators can still view the number of dislikes on their own videos. This has left many people wondering if YouTube’s reason for removing the dislike count—to prevent hate attacks and bullying—still holds up if creators can see the dislikes privately. Well it is a fair point indeed, but keeping the dislike counts private helps contain the negativity.
Let us not forget that the dislikes serve an important role in providing feedback. Sometimes, creators post videos that are offensive or negative, not always intentionally though, and the best way to let them know is by disliking those videos. It sends a clear message that their content is not acceptable. Seeing the dislikes helps them understand their audience’s reactions and improve their content. After all, dislikes are a metric meant to express dissatisfaction, not hate.
In case you are a content creator reading this, if you are having trouble getting YouTube likes, we offer a service where you can buy YouTube likes for a very competitive price.
Did YouTube Remove Dislikes Because of Rewind?
When YouTube decided to hide the public dislike counts, it happened around the same time they canceled their Rewind series for good. This made a lot of people wonder if the two were connected. The 2018 YouTube Rewind became the most disliked video on the platform, not just because people didn’t like it, but because it became a trend to dislike it. People saw how many dislikes it had and joined in just for the laughs.
The 2019 Rewind got a lot of hate too. YouTube tried to make a better one in 2019, but by then, the damage was done. Rewind had become a joke, and not in a good way. They skipped Rewind in 2020 because of COVID-19, and in 2021, they announced Rewind was gone for good. Funny enough, they also hid the dislike counts around the same time, making people wonder if YouTube removed dislikes because of Rewind and that they might have been a bit “salty.”
It might sound a bit comical, but there’s some truth to this idea. Rewind was supposed to be a fun, positive recap of the year, but it turned into something that spread a lot of hate. Maybe YouTube decided to hide the dislike counts to stop this kind of negativity. It’s like YouTube saw how we were behaving with the dislike button and thought, “Nope, you can’t have this anymore.”
How to See Dislikes on YouTube Videos
A lot of YouTube users got really annoyed when the dislike counts were removed. They liked it as a feature and have been trying to bring it back ever since. From our search, we saw a few ways discussed on how to see YouTube dislikes. So let’s jump to it:
See Dislikes as a Channel Owner
The way that you can see your dislikes as a channel owner is by going to YouTube Studio, a place where you can see all the analytics regarding your channel.
You click on Content, and on the far right you have a section which says Likes (vs Dislikes). And that is basically how you see them.
How to See Dislikes on a YouTube Video as a Viewer
Now that we know how to do this as a creator, we will show you how to do it as a normal viewer too. You can bring it back using the free, open-source browser extension called “Return YouTube Dislike“. It pulls data from YouTube’s API to show you the number of dislikes. While YouTube has removed public access to dislike stats, the extension developers are prepared for this change. They plan to estimate the numbers using a combination of scraped data, user behavior, and view-to-like ratios.
How to See Dislikes on YouTube Mobile
While YouTube removed the public dislike count, you can still get an idea of the number using third-party tools. Just like previously, we are going to download the “Return YouTube Dislike” extension, which provides estimated dislike counts by combining archived data and user activity. You can install this extension on browsers like Firefox (on Android), or on the phone as an app. It’s super easy from there: go to whatever video you want to checkout, click share then YouTube Dislike Button. Just keep in mind, these numbers are estimates since the official YouTube API for dislikes no longer exists.
Is There a Way on How to See Comment Dislikes on YouTube?
Just like with videos, YouTube has hidden the number of dislikes on comments too. Unfortunately, from our extensive research, we couldn’t find any way to bring back comment dislikes, just like with videos. So, as of now, there’s no way to see the number of dislikes on a YouTube comment.
If you were wondering on how to see what comments you have liked or disliked on your YouTube account, we have a guide on how to check it on your phone or desktop.
Final Words on How to See YouTube Dislikes
YouTube’s decision to hide public dislike counts has stirred quite a bit of controversy, mainly because of how it was implemented. The dislike button is still there, but the number is only visible to the content creator. This makes the situation a bit complex and has led some to criticize YouTube for not removing it completely or keeping it the same as before. While the move aims to reduce online hate and bullying, many users still feel the need to see these metrics. Unfortunately there is still no accurate method on how to see YouTube dislikes count on videos or comments.
