Twitter is experimenting with a downvote option on tweets... but don't call it a Dislike button

Twitter is experimenting with tweaking the Like button on tweets. In a test the company is running at the moment, some users are seeing Upvote and Downvote options in place of the more familiar heart icon for liking a tweet.

Different styles of button are currently being tested, but it seems that the experiment is more for the benefit of Twitter than Twitter users. The experimental feature is not the tweet editing option so many people have been begging for for so long, and nor is it -- Twitter is at pains to emphasize -- a "dislike" button.

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For now, it is only iOS users who have access to the experiment, and Twitter has not revealed how many people are taking part in the test, where they are located, or how they were selected. What many people will find strange about the ability to up-or downvote replies is that this information will not be fully shared; it is primarily for Twitter's use as the company works out how to display more relevant content to people.

As you can see in the image tweeted by Twitter Support, there are various implementations of upvote and downvote button included in the experiment.

Twitter is quick to point out that this is not a "dislike" button, and stresses that this is merely a test for research purposes at the moment. The company also says that any downvotes that you place will only be visible to you, and that the votes that are placed will not influence the order in which tweets are displayed.

At the moment, it is not clear quite how long Twitter intends to run this experiment with iOS users, nor whether the same feature will make its way to Android or the web.