How to see dislikes on YouTube

YouTube videos have been dislike-counter-free for nearly two years. It was a move made to improve the quality of life for creators on the platform, but it also made viewers’ lives more challenging. Those who previously relied on dislike numbers to make a viewing decision no longer have this metric to lean on. Well, at least not officially. There is a way to gauge a video’s thumbs-down totals. Here’s how to see dislikes on YouTube.

How to see dislikes on YouTube

While YouTube has removed the public visibility of dislike totals from videos and the YouTube API, you can use browser add-ons to get a semblance of the quality of the content before watching it.

Return YouTube Dislike is one of the more popular add-ons across Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, and Mozilla Firefox. It takes original dislike data before YouTube turned off the feature and estimates the likely current dislikes with data (dislike votes) from its own users. In this sense, it’s not as accurate as what an official dislike counter from YouTube would be, but it does provide some insight into the successful or controversial content on the website.

Here’s how to use the add-on on your respective browser.

How to install and use Return YouTube Dislike for Google Chrome

Installing a Google Chrome extension is simple. Below, we explain how to grab the extension from the Chrome Web Store to enable YouTube’s dislike counter.

1. Visit the Return YouTube Dislike for Chrome page. Hit the Add to Chrome button to download the extension.
2. Once the extension is installed, open a YouTube video. In our example shot above, we chose YouTube Rewind 2018.
3. You can now see the dislike total alongside the like counter.

You can also use this Chrome extension on some Android browsers. Most notably, this extension should work on Kiwi Browser.

Return YouTube Dislike for Microsoft Edge

Notably, Microsoft Edge can make full use of the Chrome Web Store. We recommend downloading Return YouTube Dislike for Chrome on Edge.

1. Visit the Return YouTube Dislike for Chrome page. Hit the Get button to download the extension.
2. Click Add extension in the pop-up that appears.
3. Once the extension is installed, open a YouTube video.
4. You can now see the dislike total alongside the like counter.

Return YouTube Dislike for Mozilla Firefox

Finally, we recommend the same add-on if you’re a Firefox user. The installation process differs slightly from Chrome and Edge, but the functionality is similar. Here’s how to install Return YouTube Dislike for Mozilla Firefox.

1. Visit the Return YouTube Dislike page on Mozilla’s Add-Ons repository. Click Add to Firefox to download the add-on.
2. Click Add in the pop-up that appears.
3. Tap the blue Okay button.
4. Next, visit any YouTube Video.
5. The dislike total will now be visible alongside the like counter.

Why did YouTube remove dislikes?

Despite the dislike counter’s usefulness in determining the quality of a YouTube video, the company disabled the feature in November 2021. According to YouTube, the primary reason for this change is to protect creators from “dislike attacks.” It believes that the dislike button can be used to harass creators. YouTube also claimed that the decision will help protect smaller creators and “create an inclusive and respectful environment where creators have the opportunity to succeed and feel safe to express themselves.”

Interestingly, based on experiments before the move, YouTube discovered that removing dislike totals did curb harassment. It found an overall reduction in dislikes when the total was not visible to users.

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