Facebook Finally Brings Dislike Button, but Only on Facebook Messenger

facebook messenger dislike button

It’s what we’ve been waiting for, for a really long time. Facebook has finally deigned to introduce a test Dislike button, but not on the main app. The testing is being done with Facebook Messenger, and is part of several other reaction emoji on the messaging app.

Facebook just confirmed this new feature to TechCrunch, with a note:

“We’re always testing ways to make Messenger more fun and engaging. This is a small test where we enable people to share an emoji that best represents their feelings on a message”

Messenger Reactions isn’t being made available to everyone just yet. Select users are being given access so they can test it out. Essentially, the feature allows you to add reactions to your contacts’ messages just like you would on a News Feed post.

It works very simply. When you hover over a particular message (on the desktop app), you’ll see an emoji icon. Tap or click that, and then pick from a choice of emoji that include a Thumbs Up and a Thumbs Down (Dislike) icon. That reaction will be counted towards that particular message in the thread. Other users can then tap on the counter to see who left what reaction.

The regular News Feed reaction options don’t offer a Dislike option, even though it is one of the company’s most requested features. That’s why it only appears on the comments as of now.

TechCrunch has been told that the company sees the Dislike button as more of a “no” button (Thumbs Down) and a “yes” button (Thumbs Up.)




Messenger Reactions are basically similar to what Slack has as emoji responses. They’re easier for other users to track because they’re attached to the relevant message or chat. That makes a lot of sense when several people are typing out messages at the same time and you want your yes/no response to correspond to the chat you’re responding to.

Facebook is now looking at its applications on a more granular level to see how they can make their platforms better and more intuitive to use when compared to rivals like Snapchat.

Messenger Reactions could help by allowing people to respond positively or negatively to a particular chat rather than confuse everyone with a response with no reference. Just “yes” or “no” in a multi-person conversation can get confusing unless it directly references another chat.




WhatsApp has that functionality, where you can have a copy of the chat you’re responding to right above your own response. In a way, that’s like how it would appear on a forum thread.

Making reactions easier and adding a Dislike option might not tilt things in Facebook’s favor as far as users are concerned, but it will make conversations a whole lot less confusing.

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