YouTube says it is not testing a hidden dislike button for viewers, but the button is moving on a new creator-facing layout.
On Tuesday, screenshots from at least two users on X showed the dislike button tucked into the three-dot menu under a video. That looked like a test. In a Wednesday statement, YouTube spokesperson Kimberly Taylor said the company is "not testing hiding the dislike button on YouTube for users." The statement added that YouTube is introducing a new interface for creators on their uploaded videos, and that the dislike button will be moved there.
The wording is narrow. A rollout is not a test, and the denial covers viewers specifically. The portion of the statement available leaves open how the creator layout works and when it arrives.
Here is a plausible reading, and it is only speculation: the two users may have been looking at their own uploads through the new creator view. That would explain how separate people saw the same change while YouTube says no viewer test exists. YouTube has not confirmed it.
Some background, which is not part of the statement: YouTube removed public dislike counts from videos in 2021 but kept the button itself. Since then, the dislike button has been one of the few visible traces of the feature, which is partly why any move of it draws quick attention.
The open question is whether a creator-only change stays that way. YouTube's denial addresses what is happening now for viewers, not what the company may do with the button later.