You may be wondering how to view YouTube dislikes since Google disabled them in 2021. Luckily, there is a way to see dislikes on YouTube with a simple desktop browser plugin on Google Chrome. Here’s how to install it and use it to see dislikes going forward.

Why Did YouTube Hide Dislikes?

You cannot view dislikes on YouTube, regardless of your device or the video, which means you won’t be aware of who may have disapproved of a video.

YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki wrote a statement about the company’s future plans and posted it on the YouTube Blog in January of 2022, acknowledging “We also saw the dislike count harming parts of our ecosystem through dislike attacks as people actively worked to drive up the number of dislikes on a creator’s videos. These attacks often targeted smaller creators and those just getting started. We want every creator to feel they can express themselves without harassment.”

In other words, it was lowering morale for creators to see dislikes. So YouTube made a controversial decision to remove them from view.

What to Keep in Mind

The plugin we’re going to mention uses cached data that was collected before YouTube banned access to the dislike feature in its API. Because of this, the total dislikes for videos may not be exact but should be close to the actual number. The actual number of likes and dislikes that a video receives can only be seen by the person who created the content.

How to See Dislikes on YouTube

Even if you’re not able to see the most accurate number of dislikes on videos, the following steps can help you see them as closely to precisely as possible. Here’s how to set it all up.

Step 1: Visit the Extensions Store

First, you’ll need to be using Google Chrome and be logged in to your Google account in order to download the plugin that helps you see dislikes on YouTube.

Once you have that all set up, you’ll then visit the Google Chrome Web Store.

Step 2: Download the Extension

Once you’re in the web store, you can now find the extension that helps you see YouTube dislikes. In the search bar on the left-hand side, type in ‘return YouTube dislike’.

This will bring up a few different options, but you’ll pick the first, named ‘Return YouTube Dislike’ with a thumbs-down graphic. You’ll click on that option.

Step 3: Add to Chrome

Once the plugin loads, you’ll then choose ‘‘Add to Chrome’. A confirmation box will appear, and you’ll confirm the addition by clicking ‘Add extension’. From there, it will automatically load to your browser.

Step 4: Check YouTube

Now you have the Return YouTube Dislike extension! From here you can log in to YouTube, choose a video, and see the dislikes right on the page!

How to See Dislikes On YouTube Wrap Up

Both authors and viewers can learn a lot from the dislikes of videos. If you’re the video’s creator, it’s easy to see this information on YouTube Studio’s content tab. But if you’re a viewer, it’s still possible to see dislikes by downloading the extension that we mentioned above. That way you can get reliable estimations!

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