TikTok announced in a blog post about testing a dislike button for comments. The key objective is to enable users to flag irrelevant content and provide help for the TikTok community. The new dislike button from TikTok will appear as a thumbs-down icon.
The button is at the right side of the heart icon which is also available next to comments. However, the new dislike button isn’t currently available to all users. The company has planned to release it worldwide over the next couple of months.
TikTok said in a blog post that the company has started testing a method to allow individuals to identify comments. The community feedback would include a range of factors the platform is already using to help keep the comment section relevant.
TikTok Users can Leave Feedback for Comments
Users are already able to mention their dislike by long-pressing it and selecting from the popup menu ‘not interested’. TikTok also enables users to report comments after long-pressing on them to select the ‘Report’ option.
Meanwhile, the new dislike option marks the first time that users can now leave a negative view for selected comments. Users can leave feedback if they find the comment isn’t reportable but still not helpful for the community.
The number of disliking comments will be hidden unlike YouTube often dislikes the old comments. The new feature is reportedly aimed at preventing creating sick-feeling between discouraging creators and community members.
However, users who are part of the test can flag these sorts of comments using a private dislike button option. The platform has also confirmed the new option is currently started tested in specific regions but not in the United States.
Dislike Button isn’t similar to Report Comments
The dislike will not go public after a user dislikes a comment. Commenters will not get notified that someone has disliked their comment. Users and commenters will not discover how many times users have disliked a comment.
TikTok also said the button will provide a way for users to flag comments if found spam or really irrelevant. The social platform also mentioned the dislike button isn’t considered an option to report comments. However, users can use the standard option for reporting comments for hate speech, harassment, etc.
TikTok explained the new test in a blog post. The company announced the beginning of testing to enable users to identify supposedly irrelevant or inappropriate comments. This feedback from the community would include a series of factors. The company is already using these elements to help keep the comment field more relevant and according to the content.
Thumbs Down Button for Negative Comments
Meanwhile, the company has refused to share more details about the user interface of the dislike button. The company is reportedly developing the dislike button. A social media consultant Matt Navarra first mentioned the new option in March 2020. It is important that various types of dislike buttons are already available on many digital platforms.
However, YouTube is offering a thumbs down button for comments and offers a dislike option privately. Reddit also offers a similar thumb impression button for comments. Twitter is reportedly testing a private down-vote button to reply to tweets. TikTok is also starting to experiment with reminders alongside a new private dislike button.
It would enable users to filter the app’s comments with delete and bulk block options. Users will receive reminders if their videos are experiencing a massive number of negative comments. This feature will join the existing tools for creators of TikTok such as selecting the option to filter entire comments for manual reviews.