What users are reporting

Users on X and Reddit have shared screenshots suggesting that YouTube is testing a layout in which the dislike button no longer sits beside the like button under videos. In the images, the dislike option appears inside the menu opened by the three-dots icon, in one case next to the Report option. A Reddit user posted an image in which the button is missing altogether. Users who noticed the change complained that signalling disapproval now takes an extra step, which makes rating a video they dislike more tedious.

Google's silence and the test's reach

Google has not confirmed the change and did not reply to requests for comment at the time of publication. YouTube has not said how widely the test is running or whether it is meant to become permanent. 9to5Google, which gathered the user reports, said its editors could not reproduce the change on their own accounts. Europa Press and Adnkronos both describe the test as reaching only some users, and neither outlet could establish its full scope.

Why the placement matters

The Verge argues that moving the button into a submenu would make it considerably more effort to reach, so fewer people would likely use it. For the platform's viewers, that means a negative rating would require one more tap than a like. The change would also reduce the visibility of a feature that has already been scaled back in recent years, leaving the thumbs-down as a hidden option rather than a direct one.

Earlier changes to the dislike button

In November 2021 YouTube hid the public count of dislikes on videos, saying the aim was to protect creators from harassment. Users could still press the button, and creators could still see the counts for their own videos. Tests on YouTube Shorts began at the end of 2025, and in 2026 the platform removed the button from the directly accessible set of Shorts controls, pointing users to the three-dots menu instead. The current reports follow that same pattern of moving the control out of sight.

What remains unknown

No source gives the number of accounts affected or the length of the test. It is also unclear whether the reported layout will reach all users or remain a limited experiment. Until YouTube responds, the reports rest on user screenshots and on the observations of the outlets that tried to verify them.