Key Takeaways:
- YouTuber NakeyJakey is calling on YouTube to reinstate a visible dislike button.
- He argues the button was a fast, useful way to spot misleading or clickbait content.
- YouTube hid public dislike counts in 2021. The counts have since been removed from Shorts too.
- Third-party browser extensions can restore dislike visibility. NakeyJakey says that’s not a real substitute for a built-in feature.
- Fans often point to YouTube Rewind 2018 as the turning point behind the change. It’s still the platform’s most disliked video.
For years, a thumbs down was a simple way to tell a creator you didn’t support their video. YouTube began phasing that visible feedback out a few years ago. The calls to bring it back haven’t stopped since.
NakeyJakey Wants YouTube to Bring Back Dislikes
Speaking to Dexerto, NakeyJakey shared what rule he’d add to YouTube if he could. He’d bring back some form of the dislike button. He called it a genuinely handy tool for creators and viewers alike.
He explained that a visible dislike count used to help viewers instantly flag certain videos. Some clips were misleading or not actually about what they claimed to be. Seeing a high dislike count meant people could skip them. It saved them from clicking on something that turned out to be, in his words, “bullsh*t.”
He didn’t ignore the downsides, either. NakeyJakey, whose channel is known for its sharp commentary on gaming and internet culture and can be found on NakeyJakey’s YouTube channel, acknowledged the button was sometimes abused. People would troll or dislike videos for reasons that had nothing to do with quality. Still, he argued the visibility it gave viewers made it worth bringing back.
He also addressed a common counterpoint. Some argue third-party browser extensions already restore dislike counts for anyone who wants them. In his view, that workaround isn’t good enough. A feature buried in a plug-in isn’t the same as one built into the platform. Making it visible to everyone by default, like before, is what actually made it useful.
Why Did YouTube Remove the Dislike Button?
YouTube hid public dislike counts across the platform back in 2021. The stated goal was protecting creators, particularly smaller ones, from targeted dislike-bombing campaigns. The like and dislike buttons themselves never disappeared. Only the visible count did, meaning viewers can still click dislike, but nobody else can see the total.
More recently, YouTube extended that same logic to Shorts, removing dislike visibility there as well. According to YouTube’s official statement, the feature “overlapped” with other tools already available for feedback and moderation.
This isn’t the first time the topic has resurfaced. YouTube previously responded after users noticed dislikes had vanished from Shorts. The feature hasn’t returned there, though. Many fans still point to YouTube Rewind 2018 as the moment that started it all. It remains, per public dislike-count records before they were hidden, YouTube’s most disliked video ever.
Final Thoughts
The dislike button debate keeps resurfacing for one simple reason. The underlying problem hasn’t gone away. Viewers still want a quick, reliable signal for whether a video is worth their time. NakeyJakey’s comments add another prominent creator voice to a conversation that’s been building for years. YouTube shows no signs of reversing course so far. Still, the pressure from creators and viewers alike suggests this won’t be the last time the question comes up. Although YouTube no longer displays public dislike counts by default, creators and viewers can still find ways to understand audience reactions. Our guide on how to see dislikes on YouTube explains the available methods to check dislike data today.
