Instagram tests a ‘dislike’ button for comments

After users noticed a new button on Instagram to downvote or dislike comments, the company confirmed that it is testing a way for users to signal that they either didn’t like the comment or don’t think it’s relevant.

The feature will appear across both Feed posts and Reels.

Instagram head Adam Mosseri said in a post on Threads that the company won’t show a dislike count, and no one will know you disliked comment. He added that, eventually, dislikes will count toward ranking comments.

“Some of you may have seen that we’re testing a new button next to comments on Instagram – this gives people a private way to signal that they don’t feel good about that particular comment. I want to be clear: this is a test, there is no dislike count, nor will anyone know if you tap the button. Eventually, we may integrate this signal into comments ranking to move disliked comments lower down. Our hope is that this might help make comments more friendly on Instagram,” Mosseri said.

Last month, app sleuth Alessandro Paluzzi posted about Instagram testing such a feature, and now the company has made it official.

Meta said that this test is to contribute towards improving the quality of the comment section.

“We’re working on ways to help people better control their Instagram experience and what they’re seeing on the app,” A company spokesperson said. “We’re testing a new button next to each comment on a Reel or Feed post for people to privately signal they don’t feel good about that particular comment or find it relevant. We’re testing this with a very small group of people to start. Later, we may also test moving these comments lower down in the comments section to help create a better experience,” they added.

Reddit has had a downvote mechanism for years now, and the platform also uses it to sort different kinds of comments based on upvotes and downvotes. While Meta is moving in a similar direction, we don’t yet know if it will give these votes as much weight as Reddit does.