Facebook begins limited testing of Reactions
A Facebook Dislike button is here – sort of. The social network announced earlier today that it has begun a limited test of Reactions. It’s now available to users in Spain and Ireland.
Instead of truly being a way to dislike something, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg described the feature as a “more expressive Like button.” A long press of the Like button will allow users to express a number of emotions with different emojis.
He talked more about the feature in a Facebook post:
For many years though, people have asked us to add a “dislike” button. Not every moment is a good moment, and sometimes you just want a way to express empathy. These are important moments where you need the power to share more than ever, and a Like might not be the best way to express yourself.
Reactions gives you new ways to express love, awe, humor and sadness. It’s not a dislike button, but it does give you the power to easily express sorrow and empathy — in addition to delight and warmth. You’ll be able to express these reactions by long pressing or hovering over the Like button.
Here’s a quick video that shows Reactions. Click here if you can’t see it.
It’s unknown when Reactions will arrive in other countries. But we’ll definitely let you know if we hear any more information. While it’s not a true Dislike button, I’m glad to see Facebook at least testing out Reactions.
And that’s not the only new feature Facebook is trying out. First reported by The Next Web, some users of the Facebook iOS app are being prompted to leave a personalized “Happy Birthday” video on the wall of their friends. It can be up to 20 seconds long, and you can review it before posting.
For other news today, see: Netflix has just raised the price of its popular streaming plan, Medium 2.0 brings seamless sync, image zoom and a new look, and AT&T seemingly turns on Wi-Fi calling for iOS 9 iPhone users nationwide.
