YouTube Shorts Nixes ‘Dislikes’ And Lets You Double The Playback Speed

YouTube Shorts only launched in 2020, but has since become a stalwart with 200 billion daily views as of last year, which is on par with rival Instagram Reels. Now, YouTube has announced that it’s making Shorts more “intuitive” with several significant changes, including the removal of dislikes, a clear screen mode, and dual-speed playback.

YouTube started hiding the number of dislikes years ago, but now it has removed the button on shorts entirely. “Instead, we’ll rely on our more precise controls, ‘Not interested’ and ‘Don’t recommend this channel’, to more precisely tune your feed and present the content you want,” the team said in a blog post. It has replaced the “Like” button with hearts to provide a “more meaningful way” to interact with content.

Some Reddit commenters noted that removing the dislike button would make it harder to express contempt for AI slop and other bad content. However, another noted that the dislike button “messes with the logic of engagement” and that the “Not interested” and “Don’t recommend” options are a better way to avoid undesirable content.

The new Clear Screen mode is a clear indication of TikTok’s Clear Mode. YouTube said the interface can sometimes feel like a “blot on your windshield,” so you now have the option to turn it off entirely in the three-dot Settings menu. YouTube has also changed the way you mute videos on Shorts if you blast a sound in an inappropriate place. Now you need to tap on the video to pause it, then tap on the “Mute” button that appears.

Finally, YouTube now lets you play shorts at double the speed by tapping and holding on the screen. You can then drag it down to lock it for the duration of the video. YouTube called it the “most requested feature” for Shorts. The new settings are now rolling out in most areas, but they may be arriving slowly. For example, in my location in France, my playback speed has doubled for at least a few weeks, but the dislike button is still there.