YouTube users were alarmed when the Like counts on videos abruptly disappeared on November 5, 2024. After YouTube eliminated the dislike count nearly three years ago, many people were afraid that this would be another controversial change.
Although the likes eventually returned, the brief disappearance raised concerns among users about whether YouTube was experimenting with another major update.
Series of unpopular updates spark frustration
YouTube’s community has not been happy with a number of changes the company has made throughout 2024. These include disabling adblockers, increasing the cost of YouTube Premium and introducing pause-screen ads. Many users are unhappy with these updates, feeling that the platform’s changes are becoming increasingly disruptive.
Reddit users expressed their worries over the sudden disappearance of likes in a number of threads. “No likes anymore now,” one user posted, attaching a screenshot showing the missing like count. Another asked, “Did YouTube remove likes?” sharing an image of the first-ever YouTube video without a visible like count.
Community reactions and speculations
There was a lot of speculation after the incident, including concerns that the platform would eventually eliminate likes completely. One user remarked, “While I think it’s completely illogical to remove likes … YouTube has made some arguably illogical decisions before.” Another joked, “YouTube’s final form will literally just be a video with no title, views, likes, dislikes, release date, subs, or channel name.”
Previous testing adds to worries
Users have also recently reported that a potential new update that removes the video upload date and view count is being tested. YouTube explained that this was not a permanent change, but rather the result of an error in a browser extension.
For now, the like counts have returned, but users remain cautious, given YouTube’s history of controversial tests and updates.