Hate a post or a page, soon you will get a ‘Dislike’ button on Facebook

Facebook has finally confirmed that it is working on a ‘Dislike’ button after years of requests from its users.

The company’s co-founder and chief, Mark Zuckerberg revealed the ongoing tests during a live Q&A session held at Facebook’s headquarters in Menlo Park, California on Tuesday.


Zuckerberg acknowledged for long users have been able to ‘Like’ something on Facebook with the click of a button. However, that does not work for some content so well.

“Not every moment is a good moment,” he said. “If you share something that’s sad, like a refugee crisis that touches you or a family member passes away _ it may not be comfortable to like that post.”

The answer to that problem might casually be referred to as a dislike button. However, he went on to say he did not want it to be a mechanism with which people could “down vote” others’ posts. He was also clear that the button won’t be about fostering negativity the way YouTube and Reddit’s downvotes often can.

Instead, it will be for times when clicking ‘Like’ on ‘Sad’ posts felt insensitive. With this service, Facebook appears to prefer is something that allows you to express “empathy” with “more options.”

This is not the first time Zuckerberg has considered the idea of a ‘Dislike’ button. In December, he disclosed that he had been weighing how to implement a dislike button that would be a “force for good.” This may mean that the company is working on a wider range of reactions, so that posts are not limited to simple Likes and Dislikes.

The CEO expects the new feature to begin public testing soon, and it will roll it out to everyone if accepts it.