Instagram is working on a Dislike button that will anonymously downrank comments

Across pretty much every social platform there is a strange focus on responding positively to content through the use of a ‘like’ button. Instagram is no different in this regard, but this could be about to change.

Some users have noticed a new down arrow button next to comments which has been confirmed by Instagram's trial of a new feature. The button enables users to dislike a comment under a post, but it does not work quite as you may expect.

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After interest was pique by the appearance of the new option, the head of Instagram, Adam Mosseri, took to Threads to give a little more detail. He explained that for the time being, the button is in testing, and this means that it is not guaranteed to roll out to everyone.

But he also revealed some other interesting details. Not only will down votes be anonymous, there will be no visible count of the number of negative vote cast against a comment. This does not mean, however, that down-voting is pointless. Comments that receive lots of negative reactions may be filtered:

Some of you may have seen that we're testing a new button next to comments on Instagram - this gives people a private way to signal that they don’t feel good about that particular comment. I want to be clear: this is a test, there is no dislike count, nor will anyone know if you tap the button. Eventually, we may integrate this signal into comments ranking to move disliked comments lower down. Our hope is that this might help make comments more friendly on Instagram.

Adding further context, a Meta spokesperson said:

We’re working on ways to help people better control their Instagram experience and what they’re seeing on the app. We’re testing a new button next to each comment on a Reel or Feed post for people to privately signal they don’t feel good about that particular comment or find it relevant.

They continued: “We’re testing this with a very small group of people to start. Later, we may also test moving these comments lower down in the comments section to help create a better experience”.

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