Facebook finally has a dislike button, but it’s hiding

For as long as I can remember, Facebook users have been requesting a feature that the firm has avoided implementing — a dislike button. That could be about to change, though, as TechCrunch has caught wind that the social networking giant is currently working on bringing Reactions to Messenger, and the coveted thumbs-down emoji is included.

The way it works is simple: Users have the option to react to individual messages in a chat thread with an emoji. When they receive a new message, all they have to do is hover over it, then tap the emoji icon to pick from seven different Reactions — heart-eyes, lol, wow, sad, angry, thumbs-up and thumbs-down.

However, Facebook isn’t marketing the thumbs-down emoji as a way to dislike content. Instead, it told TechCrunch it’s intended to be used as a “no” button, in order to make everyday decisions, like choosing where to go for lunch, a lot easier for people in groups where multiple discussions are happening at the same time. Although, it accepts it’ll inevitably be used as a way to show disapproval.

Reactions for Messenger, which is almost identical to Reactions for the News Feed (it’s just gained a thumbs-down emoji), is currently being tested by a small number of Facebook users, and it’ll only make its way to the rest if it’s deemed to be useful. Given the success of Emoji Reactions in Slack, we have a feeling it’ll catch on.

Not the same as disliking cat pictures in your News Feed

Sure, it’s not the same as being able to dislike the slew of cat pictures that undoubtedly appear in your News Feed (although, I’m not sure why you’d want to — cats are great), but it should certainly help introduce a much-needed form of structure in rapid-fire group chats.

www.technobuffalo.com