X test a "Dislike" button

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Elon Musk's X, formerly Twitter, is said to be developing an unfavorable vote feature that could be used to improve response ranking.

At least, that's what some elements found in the code suggest, although the social network has yet to make the news official.

X develops a "Dislike" button

Aaron Perris, @aaronp613 on X, was one of the first to communicate on the subject. The engineer shared screenshots of X's iOS app referring to an unfavorable voting feature that is said to be in development. He also reportedly found image files indicating that the button could take the shape of a broken heart.

Remember that Twitter already tested "downvoting" in 2021, before Elon Musk acquired the social network. But while at the time Twitter tested the "dislike" button on all publications, it seems that X reserves it for replies only. Indeed, the heartbreak was reportedly spotted on the account of an X employee who had shared a video demonstration of a new way of expanding replies. This message was quickly deleted and republished. In the meantime, the dislike button had disappeared.

On X, the "Dislike" button could be used to rank the relevance of responses to a Tweet.

Another user, @P4mui, also shared videos of the button in action, including one in which a user asks him not to like his reply to the post. @P4mui, who activated the button using a functionality indicator, also noted that the button was currently only available on replies.

However, the screenshots shared by Aaron Perris leave us in doubt. The text strings found in the code "Do you want to vote against this post?" or "Vote against this post" seem to refer to posts, not replies.

On X a "Dislike" button to encourage positive engagement?

All we know for sure is that tests of an "I don't like" button are underway. We'll have to wait a little longer, however, to see under what conditions it will be deployed. If reserved solely for replies, this new feature could, according to some observers, limit comments intended solely for clashing, in favor of more positive and constructive engagement.

As a reminder, more recently, X began hiding likes to allow Twittos to like "bolder" content and protect their image, according to Musk.

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