Known for its iconic “thumbs up” or “Like” emoji, Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) is reportedly trying out a new feature with some users. In a world where most users on social media react to stories via emojis, this new feature would give a somewhat broader range of reactions for users to choose from. Not to mention, many users have been asking for this feature for years. Facebook is introducing the “Dislike” button among other emojis to some of its Messenger users, according to Techcrunch.
A similar feature was seen roughly a year ago, when Facebook introduced Reactions, a range of emojis that users could pick from when reacting to a post. Reactions has proven incredibly popular among users, with over 300 billion sent so far.
Also Reactions helps Facebook more efficiently determine and track how interesting a post is and how prominently to display it in the news feed, as opposed to just using Likes as it had done previously.
Although what Facebook is testing with the Dislike button is only being looked at on the Messenger App at the moment, there is a broader application across the platform.
According to Techcrunch:
Notably, the Messenger reaction list differs from the News Feed one because of the addition of much-requested and always-denied Dislike button. Though it’s known as Facebook’s most asked for feature, the company didn’t want to inject too much negativity into the feed so it never built one. Instead, it built Reactions so people could share more nuanced emotions quickly, but left disliking for the comments.
Facebook sees it as more a “no” button, the company tells me. It says people often use Messenger for planning and coordination, and it’s experimenting to see if a reactions are helpful for quick logistics and voting. Thats why it’s offering a Yes/No option, even though people will naturally see it as a Dislike button too.
Shares of Facebook closed Friday at $137.13, with a consensus analyst price target of $159.00 and a 52-week trading range of $104.40 to $137.82. The stock was relatively flat early on Monday.
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