Short message service: Bluesky wants to test a "dislike" button
(Bild: Diego Thomazini/Shutterstock.com)
So that Bluesky users can better indicate which content they like and which they don't, there should soon be a way to rate it negatively.
The short message service Bluesky [1] will soon be testing a “dislike” option, through which users can clearly indicate in algorithmically populated feeds which content they do not like. The people responsible announced this in a blog post over the weekend, in which further innovations were presented. With a way to not give content a heart but instead to express displeasure, the network is venturing into a change that has already caused heated debates on other social networks. For example, Twitter experimented with such a function before being taken over by Elon Musk experimented with such a function [2] and thus attracted criticism.
Attempts again and again
As the Bluesky team explains, the “dislike option” is intended to remain private and primarily influence which content you yourself see. Since they also want to prioritize showing you content from contacts with whom you interact a lot, the new function could indirectly influence their feed. The accounts whose posts you rate negatively will therefore apparently not be informed about it. This should also take the wind out of the sails of concerns that bullying could be promoted through it. That was one of the main criticisms of the test on Twitter. Similar attempts also occurred on Facebook [3]. YouTube has hidden the number of “dislikes,” [4] and on Reddit you can see the sum of “likes” and “dislikes.”
In the blog post, [5] the people responsible for Bluesky promise that “toxic, inappropriate, or malicious” replies as well as spam will be better recognized and algorithmically devalued in the future. In addition, when replying to a post, you should be directed more directly to existing comments to avoid duplication. Finally, it should be made more visible that and how you can set who can reply to posts at all. All of this is intended to ensure that conversations on the short message service become more constructive and, at the same time, more personal. Work on this will be continuously carried out and is far from finished. However, an improvement of the comments is central to this.
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This article was originally published in German [11]. It was translated with technical assistance and editorially reviewed before publication.
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[1] https://www.heise.de/thema/bluesky
[2] https://www.heise.de/news/Twitter-testet-Up-und-Down-Votes-von-Beitraegen-6144958.html?from-en=1
[3] https://www.heise.de/news/Facebook-testet-Downvote-Funktion-wie-bei-Reddit-3964129.html?from-en=1
[4] https://www.heise.de/news/Daumen-runter-Youtube-macht-den-Dislike-Zaehler-unsichtbar-6264568.html?from-en=1
[5] https://bsky.social/about/blog/10-31-2025-building-healthier-social-media-update
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[11] https://www.heise.de/news/Kurznachrichtendienst-Bluesky-will-einen-Dislike-Button-testen-10971073.html
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