YouTube Dislike Button 'Restored' with Browser Extension
Why the Dislike Button Was Removed
Starting December 13th 2021, YouTube removed the dislike count from public view, citing concerns about 'dislike bombing' and harassment. This decision was met with widespread criticism from the YouTube community, who argued that the dislike button was a valuable tool for gauging audience sentiment and holding creators accountable.
The Return of the Dislike Button
In response to the outcry, developers have created several browser extensions that aim to restore the dislike button to YouTube. One such extension is 'Return YouTube Dislike', which uses a combination of scraped dislike stats and estimates extrapolated from extension users to provide an approximation of the dislike count for each video. This extension is available for free on the Chrome Web Store and has been downloaded over 10 million times.
While the Return YouTube Dislike extension does not provide an exact count of dislikes, it does give users a general idea of how a video is being received by the audience. This information can be helpful for making decisions about which videos to watch, and can also help to hold creators accountable for their content.
The return of the dislike button, albeit in an unofficial capacity, is a victory for YouTube users. It shows that the community is willing to fight for the features that they value, and that there are developers who are willing to step up and meet their needs. The Return YouTube Dislike extension is a valuable tool for anyone who wants to get a more complete picture of how YouTube videos are being received.
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