Google stated last month that YouTube would be deleting the dislike count on videos, a change that has already taken effect and has sparked outrage among viewers.
Those who wish to keep their YouTube dislike counts alive for a little while longer can do so with the help of a handy browser plugin, at least for the time being.
Dislike Extension for YouTube
The new “Return YouTube Hate” browser extension allows users on Chrome, Edge, Firefox, and even iOS to return the YouTube dislike count to their video watching experience. Since its debut, the plugin has received thousands of good ratings from users.
When installed and activated, the YouTube extension modifies the YouTube site to display a dislike count, as it did previously.
Furthermore, when hovering over the like and dislike area, it displays exact numbers rather than the broad 10K, according to The Verge.
Use this direct link to download the extension, or search for “Return YouTube Dislike” on the Chrome Web Store. There are more platforms accessible.
There is no need to do anything after installing the extension. Simply keep it active and visit your favorite YouTube video to see it in action. The extension is, of course, free, but donations are welcome.
So, what’s the snag? It all boils down to wondering how long this will go on. The extension is presently using data from the YouTube API, which still displays current dislike counts to anyone who uses the API for public data.
However, that is scheduled to change on December 13, as Google previously indicated that this data will be taken off on that date.
After that period, which is soon approaching, the developers of this extension say they will develop dislike counts using archived stats and user data from the extension. This scraped data is already being used by the extension to boost the displayed dislike counts. Currently, data is only updated every few days.
According to 9to5Google, the backend will employ a combination of archived hate figures, estimations extrapolated from extension user data, and estimates based on view/like ratios for movies whose dislikes were not archived and for outdated dislike archives.
Why Did YouTube Remove the Like Count?
According to NewsWeek, YouTube made the modification to its platform last month, when it deleted the public dislikes in order to combat harassment and foster respectful interactions between users and producers.
Many YouTube users and creators, however, have questioned the decision, claiming that dislike counts allow the community to voice its preferences while also swiftly identifying deceptive and spam videos pushed by YouTube’s own algorithm.
Jawed Karim, YouTube’s third co-founder, has criticised the platform’s removal of public dislike counts on videos, claiming that the change will lead to the platform’s demise.
Karim stated that the reason for eliminating the dislike count is not a good one and that they have no plans to reveal it to the public. Because not all user-generated content is good, he believes that the capacity to simply and rapidly identify bad content is a crucial aspect of a user-generated content platform.