Following user observations and feedback regarding the introduction of a new button on Instagram that allows users to downvote or dislike comments, the company has confirmed that it is indeed testing a feature enabling users to indicate their dislike or irrelevance of a comment.

This feature is expected to be available across both Feed posts and Reels, providing a uniform experience for users.

In a post on Threads, Instagram head Adam Mosseri clarified that the company will not display a dislike count, and the act of disliking a comment will remain private. However, he mentioned that dislikes may eventually influence comment ranking.

Mosseri stated, “We’re testing a new button next to comments on Instagram, which provides a private way for users to express their disapproval of a particular comment. I want to emphasize that this is a test, and there will be no visible dislike count or indication of who has disliked a comment. Our goal is to potentially integrate this signal into comment ranking, moving disliked comments to a lower position, in an effort to create a more friendly and welcoming environment on Instagram.”

Last month, app researcher Alessandro Paluzzi reported on Instagram testing this feature, and now the company has officially acknowledged its existence.

According to Meta, the purpose of this test is to enhance the overall quality of the comment section.

A company spokesperson stated, “We’re exploring ways to give people more control over their Instagram experience and the content they see on the app. We’re testing a new button next to each comment on Reels and Feed posts, allowing users to privately signal their disapproval of a comment or indicate its irrelevance. Initially, we’re testing this feature with a small group of users, and we may later experiment with moving these comments to a lower position in the comments section to create a better user experience.”

Reddit has had a downvoting mechanism in place for years, utilizing it to sort comments based on upvotes and downvotes. While Meta is moving in a similar direction, it remains to be seen whether they will assign the same weight to these votes as Reddit does.