How to Hide Likes & Dislikes on YouTube Videos

YouTube creators can sometimes have a lot working against them when it comes to keeping viewers’ attention. While the YouTube user interface is pretty solid, it’s not exactly distraction free. Fortunately, the visibility of engagement metrics—such as likes and dislikes–can be controlled by creators. This is why it’s valuable to know how to hide likes on YouTube videos.

But how do you hide likes on your YouTube videos? And should you even do it in the first place? These are some questions we’re going to tackle in this guide.

Can You Still Hide Likes and Dislikes on YouTube in 2025?

The short answer is “yes and no,” thanks to some important updates over the past few years.

Since late 2021, YouTube automatically hides the public dislike counts on all videos. Viewers can still click "Dislike," but only the creator can see the total number in YouTube Studio.

The “likes” counter, however, remains public by default. If you want to hide it, you’ll need to disable the display of like counts through your video settings.

How to Hide Likes on a YouTube Video (Step-by-Step)

Here’s how you can hide likes on an individual YouTube video:

1. Go to YouTube Studio.
2. Click on Content in the left-hand menu.
3. Find the video you want to edit and click the pencil icon (Details).
4. Scroll down and click Show More.
5. Under the "User Ratings" section, uncheck the box that says “Show how many viewers like this video.”
6. Click Save.

Keep in mind that hiding likes applies individually to each video. If you want all future uploads to automatically hide likes, you will need to adjust settings for each one or use upload defaults.

How to Hide Likes on All New Videos Automatically

If you want every video you upload to hide likes by default:

• Go to YouTube Studio > Settings (bottom left corner).
• Select Upload Defaults.
• Open the Advanced Settings tab.
• Under Comments, uncheck “Show how many viewers like this video.”
• Click Save.

Once this is set, every new video you upload will have likes automatically hidden.

Should You Hide Likes on Your YouTube Videos?

So, that’s how you do it. Now let’s answer the question of whether you actually should.

From a viewer’s perspective, if they cannot see the likes on a video, there’s one burning question that’s going to be in their head: Why?

At the very least, it raises curiosity because most people will find it a little suspicious. This may lead viewers to conclude that the video’s creator has hidden the public stats because they don’t want anyone to see how few likes the video has received.

This often falls into the same question as why YouTube creators hide their subscriber count. By default, both subscriber counts and likes are shown publicly.

With that in mind, hiding likes can still be a smart strategic move, but it depends on your channel goals.

Some good reasons to hide likes may be:

• Launching a new channel: Avoid discouraging early viewers if engagement is low at the start.
• Publishing polarizing content: Sensitive topics may attract unfair negativity.
• Reducing pressure: Smaller creators often feel anxiety when public numbers are low.
• Testing different video formats: Hiding likes temporarily during experiments may be helpful.

Some situations where you might want to keep likes visible may include:

• Building social proof: High like counts can build credibility with new audiences.
• Boosting discoverability: Engagement signals (such as likes) may encourage viewers to watch.
• Transparency expectations: Some audiences expect to see engagement metrics to gauge content quality.

Final Thoughts: Should You Hide?

Unfortunately, there’s no one-size-fits-all answer. YouTube creators have more flexibility than ever to control how their content is received. Whether you choose to show or hide likes, the most important thing is to stay focused on creating amazing, authentic content that connects with your audience.