X is flirting with dislike and downvote features (again)

X aka Twitter has been reportedly working on dislike and downvote buttons again. Between this, the removal of public likes, X’s increased integration of AI chatbot Grok, and the upcoming redesign, it seems as though a lot of changes are coming for the aspiring “everything” platform.

As reported by TechCrunch, researcher Aaron Perris first discovered code references to a downvote button in an X iOS app update two weeks ago. He dug further in last week, finding even more code relating to the potential feature.

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Perris also found icons of broken hearts, which may indicate an upcoming ability to dislike X posts.

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We don’t have many details about exactly how this X’s potential downvote and dislike buttons will work. There’s also a possibility that they might not even get implemented in the end, merely remaining unrealised potential in the app’s code.

However, X does have a history of flirting with dislike and downvote features. Years ago the platform had an “I don’t like this tweet” option, used to help curate the types of tweets you were shown. This was later followed by a “see less often” button. The platform also explored adding a downvote button in 2020, conducting tests in 2021 and 2022. While it was eventually removed, Perris’ peek at this new code suggests that X hasn’t entirely given up on the idea — though it seems as though a few people wish it had.

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