YouTube's Dislike Button Is Back, Thanks To This Browser Extension

A new open-source browser extension is bringing back the ability to dislike YouTube's videos.

YouTube's Dislike Button Is Back, Thanks To This Browser Extension/Getty

New Delhi: A new open-source browser extension is bringing back the ability to dislike YouTube's videos, a feature that the video streaming giant had announced hiding last month. YouTube's public dislike count has returned through an open-source extension called "Return YouTube Dislike", a new report says.

According to a report by 9to5Google, the browser extension uses a combination of Google's API data and scraped data to fetch dislike counts and views. The browser extension has garnered thousands of positive reviews from users since its release.

To download the extension, users can use this direct link or search for "Return YouTube Dislike" in the Chrome Web Store. Also, since the extension relies on cached data from YouTube, the dislikes get updated only every two to three days. After installing the extension, users do not need to do anything additional. Another report suggests that the browser extension might not work accurately after December 13. 

Earlier in November, Jawed Karim, the co-founder of YouTube, had opposed the platform's decision to hide the public dislike button from videos. He expressed his displeasure by changing the description of Me at the Zoo that was the first video posted to YouTube, in April 2005.

Google-owned YouTube had announced that the count to dislike button will no longer be visible to the viewers. However, the creators can view the dislike counts in YouTube Studio. With this, YouTube is trying to create an inclusive and respectful environment where creators have the opportunity to succeed and feel safe to express themselves. This is just one of many steps the brand is taking to continue to protect creators from harassment.

"We are making the dislike counts private across YouTube, but the dislike button is not going away. This change will start gradually rolling out today," YouTube had said in a statement.