Article Updated: 24 Dec 2021
Latest update for mobile YouTube Studio App, which is used by YouTube creators (aka YouTubers), no longer displays information about number of dislikes per each video. In fact, even if you didn’t update your app in the last few months, dislikes are no longer displayed in the videos overview lists but only when you open particular video analytics page. That seems to be restricted on the YouTube API level, which affects even the old app versions.
11/11/2021 Update: YouTube team finally acknowledged this change officially, dislikes won’t be removed, but access to dislikes counts will be restricted to channel/videos owners only. Read more about it here.
YouTube Studio App No Longer Shows Dislikes Counts
Several years ago we talked about likes and dislikes on YouTube, and how can creators hide YouTube likes/dislikes thumbs-up/thumbs-down counts from public view, avoiding distraction and inflated negative feedback in the process.
Last week YouTube released an update for YouTube Studio app (or YT Studio, for short) that completely removed dislikes from the video analytics!
The only way to indirectly find out about dislikes count value is to visit particular Video Analytics > Engagement tab and read percentage of likes/dislikes ratio from the report. Then, using simple math (see our example further below), you can calculate dislikes count.
Number of dislikes is still available on web version of YT Studio, when you hover over particular video likes/dislikes ratio bar, or if you visit video’s YouTube actual page and check numbers by yourself.
As we speculated before, it seems that YouTube is eventually going to remove dislikes feature completely from the largest video platform in the world.
Unfortunately, this change will affect joke comments like “Opposing side (person or company) disliked this video” as a consequence.
How to find out number of dislikes for a video using YT Studio mobile app?
For example, if your video received 31 Likes, and Likes (vs. dislikes) ratio is 96.9% (strictly technically speaking, this is a ratio of Likes : Total Votes), first you need to calculate total number of votes (= Likes + Dislikes), which is equal to:
Total Votes = 31 : (96.9 : 100) = 32 (rounded up to a whole number)
The reason why we first have to divide 96.9 with a value of 100 is because we cannot divide percentages directly – we need to convert the value into decimal ratio first!
Then, subtract total votes from the available likes to determine number of dislikes:
Dislikes = 32 - 31 = 1 dislike
Additional Notes
► In case that your video has N/A or 0.0% value, it means that you do not have any likes at all or that your video received only dislikes and no likes, which still translates to 0.0% ratio. There is no way to calculate dislikes with above method — visit web version of YT Studio and hover over the likes/dislikes bar or check video page on YouTube to see actual number of dislikes in this case.
► In case that your video has 100% Likes (vs. dislikes) ratio, it means that it received only likes, and no dislikes (awesome!). In this case, you can read number of absolute likes directly from the analytics page in mobile YT studio app.
How to install an older version of YT Studio mobile app?
Another method that you can try is to revert back to an older android app version. First, you have to uninstall the currently installed (latest) YT Studio app version, and then get an older version instead. You will have to download .apk file from an independent repository somewhere (or if you happen to have an older app backup) and install it manually.
In order to be able to that, you need to allow installing apps from 3rd party sources under Android security settings, otherwise the installation procedure will fail:
Android Settings > Security > Allow apps from Unknown Sources
Note: the exact wording may be different between brands and phones and Android OS versions, but it is very similar to above.
In newer Android versions this feature is controlled per each app that performs actual installation (e.g. using File Manager):
Android Settings > Manage Apps > Apps > Select particular app e.g. File Explorer > Install apps from unknown sources > select Yes
In another words, simply download .apk file from an independent repository, open Downloads app and tap on the file to install it. You will be automatically prompted for required permission above.
We like the YT Studio mobile app version from December 2020, which still displays dislikes on individual video analytics pages, plus it also uses older more compact layout and icons. You can download that version from the following link: https://www.apkmirror.com/apk/google-inc/studio/studio-20-47-101-release/youtube-studio-20-47-101-android-apk-download/ or explore other versions and find the one you like the most (note: extremely old app versions will likely be blocked by the YouTube API and no longer work!).
About APKMirror: We have used APKMirror website on numerous occasions, and so far didn’t experience any issues with quality of downloaded apps and potential malware presence. Website is managed by the very same AndroidPolice.com team, so you should be safe, as only free legal apps are hosted after manual review and verification.
Once you finished downloading older .apk file (it’s a bit of a convoluted procedure on APKMirror website, to be honest), and assuming you allowed installing apps from unknown sources, open your Downloads folder (either using system app shortcut or 3rd party File Manager, and while you’re at it you might wish to restrict internet access for certain apps with firewall), tap on downloaded .apk file and hit INSTALL. After the installation procedure completes, OPEN the app and switch to your Google account that is associated (registered) with your YouTube channel. In some cases you will have to manually create (drag & drop) app icon shortcut onto your Desktop, if it’s not created automatically, but that also depends on app icons layout, app launcher and Android OS version. Enjoy!