Study suggests YouTube’s dislike button isn’t doing what you want it to do
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A new study from Firefox developer Mozilla suggests that YouTube’s video moderation tools are ineffective because the website keeps recommending videos you’re not interested in.
The way it should work is that users have several tools to teach YouTube’s puzzling algorithm what they don’t want to see. You have options such as the Dislike button, the Don’t recommend channel option, and the ability to remove videos from your account’s history. But according to Mozilla’s study (opens in new tab), users still get these ‘bad recommendations’. At best, YouTube’s tools cut unwanted videos by almost half. At worst, YouTube does the opposite: it increases the number of unwanted videos you see.
The full 47-page study can be found on Mozilla’s website (opens in new tab) where it outlines the researcher’s methodology, how the organization obtained the data, the findings, and what it recommends YouTube should do.
Mozilla’s findings
The study involved more than 22,000 volunteers who downloaded Mozilla’s RegretReporter (opens in new tab) browser extension that allows users to manage recommendations on YouTube and create reports for the researchers. They analyzed over 500 million videos via RegretsReporter.
According to the findings, YouTube’s tools are everywhere in terms of consistency. 39.3 percent of participants saw no changes to their recommendations. One user, named Participant 112 in the study, used the moderation tools to stop getting medical videos on their account, but was inundated with them a month later. 23 percent said they had a mixed experience. For that group, they didn’t see any unwanted videos for a while before reappearing shortly after. And 27.6 percent of participants said they stopped getting bad recommendations after using the moderation tools.
The most effective standalone tool turns out to be the Don’t Recommend channel, which reduces recommendations by about 43 percent. The Not interested option and the Dislike button performed the worst, stopping only 11 percent and 12 percent of unwanted videos, respectively.
Researchers also found that people would change their behavior to manage recommendations. In the survey, users stated that they would change YouTube settings, use a different account, or avoid certain videos or they would get more of them. Others would use VPNs and privacy extensions to keep things clean.
At the end of the study, Mozilla researchers provide their own recommendations on how YouTube should change its algorithm, with the greatest emphasis on increasing transparency. They want the controls to be made more understandable, while also asking YouTube to listen to user feedback more often. Mozilla also calls for the platform to be more transparent about how the algorithm works.
Response from YouTube
In response, a YouTube spokesperson made a statement to The Verge (opens in new tab) criticize the study. The spokesperson said the researchers failed to consider how the “systems actually work” and misunderstood how the tools work. Apparently the moderation tools don’t stop an entire topic, just that particular video or channel. According to the researcher (opens in new tab)The survey is “not a representative sample of YouTube’s user base,” but it does provide some insight into users’ frustration.
That said, the YouTube algorithm and the changes around it have caused a lot of anger among users. Many were not happy with that YouTube has removed the ‘Dislike’ counter from the website to the point where people have created extensions to add them back. In addition, there are claims that: YouTube benefits from controversial content to increase engagement. Assuming Mozilla’s data is correct, unwanted recommendations could be a byproduct of the platform capitalizing on content people don’t want to get more views.
If you want to know more about YouTube, check it out TechRadar’s story about malware being spread through gaming videos.