(Pocket-lint) – TikTok is making moves to improve user experience by testing out a dislike button for comments. In a recent blog postthe company announced that it is testing a new feature that will allow users to thumbs down a comment they don’t like.
TikTok has stated that is exploring “new ways to help our community feel more in control over comments” this move comes alongside its actions to actively remove abusive and hateful content which violates its Community Guidelines.
It has “… started testing a way to let individuals identify comments they believe to be irrelevant or inappropriate. This community feedback will add to the range of factors we already use to help keep the comment section consistently relevant and a place for genuine engagement. To avoid creating ill-feeling between community members or demoralize creators, only the person who registered a dislike on a comment will be able to see that they have done so. “
Currently, this feature appears to be in the early stages of testing, with some users seeing a thumbs down icon next to comments.
TikTok now lets you Like AND Dislike comments
<- Current version | New version ->
h / t PhSphinx pic.twitter.com/9OilQbe3ZS
– Matt Navarra (@MattNavarra) March 5, 2020
The dislike button doesn’t appear to have a count of any sort, so dislikes are private and only those who disliked the comment will see that they’ve done so. This move appears to be similar to the removal of the dislike counter that YouTube did a while back.
It’s likely that the data will be used internally in order to rank comments and assess them against community guidelines, but may also give creators a way to see which are visible.
Writing by Adrian Willings.
