March 5 (UPI) — Facebook is testing out a “dislike” button on its Messenger system.
The social media giant is rolling out the button — a thumbs down — on the Messenger app and not on its main platform, including the News Feeds, according to TechCrunch.
Messenger has 1 billion users as of last July. There are about 2 billion users on the entire Facebook system.
Messenger, which debuted in 2011, allows users on their mobile devices to send private messages, chat with groups and make free calls.
The proposed feature would be in addition to six reaction emojis: Like, Love, Haha, Wow, Sad and Angry available throughout its system.
According to Tech Crunch, Love is the most frequently used one, accounting for half of the 300 billion reactions registered.
With the system, you hover over messages friends have sent in a chat thread and you tap the emoji button.
Facebook sees the “dislike” more as a “no” reaction in a conversation. It can serve as a way for people to vote on whether they want to do something.
The reactions in Messenger are similar to responses used in Slack and Apple’s iMessage.
Facebook has been reluctant to allow users to post negative reactions to comments.
“We’re always testing ways to make Messenger more fun and engaging. This is a small test where we enable people to share an emoji that best represents their feelings on a message,” a Facebook official told TechCrunch.
If the test is successful, Messenger’s dislike could roll out to all users.
