Twitter Expanding 'Downvote' Button to Web and Android App: How it Works

Twitter is expanding the test of the ‘downvote’ button with more users. First introduced in July 2021, the option was only available to select iOS users. Now, the social media company says the ‘downvote’ button is rolling out on the Twitter web and Android app. However, its stable rollout details still remain unclear. The downvote button may seem similar to the dislike button on YouTube, but the company has clarified the two are different. Additionally, it appears that Twitter is not going with the thumbs-down icon for ‘downvote’ but has chosen an arrow pointing downwards as the official icon.

So What is Twitter Downvoting?

Last year, Twitter explained that the downvote would help the platform understand the types of replies it finds relevant in a conversation. It will essentially aid the platform to learn “most relevant replies within Tweets". Twitter explains the downvotes are only visible to the author of the tweet, and “votes won’t change the order of replies."

Interestingly, Twitter already offers the option of selecting ‘not interested in this tweet’ to show more relevant tweets to users. Regardless of the wordplay, downvoting will also help authors learn the kind of tweets/ replies that get the most number of hits.

Currently, Twitter’s competitor Facebook lacks this feature though users have the option to ‘react with emojis.’ However, the emoji tray consists of seven emojis and lacks the thumbs down emoji. Instead, users can react with the angry emoji. LinkedIn offers a similar ‘react with emoji’ option; however, the emoji tray does not include angry or downvote reactions. YouTube has long offered the option of downvote or dislike, but it introduced a major change last year. In November 2021, the video streaming platform announced plans to hide dislike counts on videos to promote “respectful interactions between viewers and creators."

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