When it comes to reacting to content found on social media, platforms often only offer a ‘Like’ button, and rarely provide the option to dislike something. Now, for some iOS users, Twitter is testing a downvoting button for reply tweets, with the goal of understanding what kind of replies to show users.
To research about what kind of replies are relevant in a conversation, Twitter is testing a new downvoting button for a select set of iOS users. If the user likes a reply, they can upvote it, and it will be shown publicly as a regular “like” on the platform. However, if they feel like the reply is not relevant, they can downvote it and it will remain private to the user.
In a tweet, the developers over at Twitter clearly stated that this is not meant to be a dislike button and that the votes will not change the order of replies. They insist that this is only a test for research right now.
On platforms such as Twitter and Instagram, there is only the option to ‘like’ content, and on Facebook, users can react to content with various emoji. It is very rare to see a dislike button, primarily to reduce the chances of targeted attacks and abuse. Chances are that Twitter’s new downvoting button will remain as test and it is unlikely that it will ever be introduced into the platform as a feature.