Instagram is quietly testing a new dislike button, but unlike traditional downvotes, this feature is only available for comments and won’t display a public count.
The move aims to help users privately flag distasteful or irrelevant comments while improving overall engagement.
A New Way to Downvote Comments
The dislike button is being tested across both Reels and Feed posts, but users won’t be able to see how many dislikes a comment has received.
Instagram head Adam Mosseri confirmed that dislikes will eventually contribute to comment ranking, similar to Reddit’s downvote system.
“This gives people a private way to signal that they don’t feel good about that particular comment,” Mosseri wrote on Threads. “Our hope is that this might help make comments more friendly on Instagram.”
A Meta spokesperson echoed this sentiment, stating that the primary goal is to improve the quality of discussions rather than introduce negativity.
However, the feature is currently in limited testing and is only available to a small group of users.
Instagram’s Recent Changes
This isn’t the only update Instagram has been working on. The platform recently announced a TikTok-like video-editing app, expanded the length of Reels to three minutes, and even removed third-party fact-checkers in an effort to revamp its content moderation policies.
With Instagram’s continued push to refine its platform, the question remains—will this new dislike button actually make comment sections friendlier?
