YouTube Shorts Not Interested Button: Creator Strategy Guide

If your Shorts are getting swiped faster than a fake giveaway, this tiny experiment could be a big deal. YouTube is testing a dedicated "Not Interested" button in Shorts - a subtle change with not-so-subtle implications for your reach, retention, and recommendations.

What's New (And Why You Should Care)

YouTube is experimenting with a clearer way for viewers to give negative feedback on Shorts: a visible "Not Interested" button. The idea is to make feedback feel less like public punishment and more like personal preference. Translation: fewer dogpiles, better personalization, and a cleaner signal to the algo about who your content is actually for.

This test appears for a subset of users and may sit alongside the usual Shorts controls or live in the overflow menu - as with most experiments, placements can change. Not all viewers will see it, and there's no guarantee it becomes permanent. But the direction is obvious: YouTube wants negative feedback to be about tailoring the feed, not tallying shame.

The Bigger Context

YouTube removed public dislike counts in 2021 to curb brigading and creator harassment. Dislikes still exist, but they're private to viewers and visible to creators in YouTube Studio.
Shorts is massive, with billions of daily views and over two billion logged-in monthly users. Tiny UX changes at that scale can nudge the recommendation system in noticeable ways.
"Not Interested" has long been available via long-press/menus; this test simply makes negative feedback easier and more intentional - which likely means more of it.

Dislike vs. Not Interested vs. Don't Recommend Channel

Dislike: A light negative signal. Counts are hidden publicly but visible in Studio. It can influence recommendations slightly, but it's not a personal filter.
Not Interested: A personalization signal. Tells the system, "show me less of this." It's about the viewer's taste, not your moral worth, and it can reduce how often similar viewers see that video.
Don't Recommend Channel: The heavy hitter. This opts a viewer out of your entire channel in their recommendations. You won't reach them through the algo unless they seek you out.

Bottom line: If this new button gets used more, viewer preference signals get sharper. Great for the right audience finding you; rough if your hook confuses or misleads the wrong audience.

What This Means for Your Shorts Strategy

1) Your first 1-2 seconds matter even more

Make the opening frame scream "who this is for." Niche-first hooks beat broad bait.
Kill cold opens. Start mid-action, mid-story, or mid-result.

2) Promise less, deliver faster

Set a tiny, clear promise and fulfill it in under 5 seconds.
If viewers feel tricked, that new button becomes a shiny red eject handle.

3) Align topic, title text-on-screen, and visual expectations

Mismatch creates swipes and "Not Interested." Tight alignment creates replays.
Use captions and on-screen text to clarify value instantly.

4) Edit for momentum, not just speed

Cut on action, add micro-payoffs, and use pattern interrupts every 2-4 seconds.
Silence is fine - dead time isn't.

How to Measure the Risk Without Guessing

You won't (yet) see a neat "Not Interested" metric in Studio, so watch the proxies that move when negative feedback rises:

Shown in feed → Viewed rate: If more people are swiping, your view rate dips.
Early retention (first 2 seconds): Steep early drop-offs often correlate with swipe-aways.
Average view duration and completion rate: Better satisfaction = fewer negative signals.
Traffic from Shorts feed over time: If impressions decay abnormally fast versus your baseline, your video may be hitting more "nope" signals.

Don't obsess over a single benchmark. Track trends against your own rolling averages. Improvement beats perfection.

Practical Playbook to Reduce "Not Interested" Taps

Hook targeting: Put the niche in frame one. If it's for editors, show the timeline. If it's for gamers, show the boss fight.
One idea per Short: If you're juggling three points, split it into three videos.
Earn the loop: End with a visual payoff that encourages an instant rewatch.
Test three intros: Publish variations 24-48 hours apart; keep the best performer's structure.
Mind the metadata: Align description/hashtags with the audience you actually want. Mislabeling invites the wrong viewers.
Respect the viewer's time: If a moment doesn't serve the payoff, cut it.

Rollout Reality Check

This is an experiment. It may roll out, roll back, or morph into something else.
UI placement can shift. What you see might not match what your viewers see.
YouTube often runs A/B tests at small scale before global changes - expect inconsistency for a while.

Make it easy for the right viewers to say "yes," so the algorithm never hears a "no."

FAQ for Busy Creators

Will this hurt my existing videos?

Not directly. But easier negative feedback can accelerate the "show less" effect on poorly targeted or misleading Shorts. Tighten your openings and audience signals to stay safe.

Can creators see "Not Interested" counts?

As of now, no separate metric is exposed. Watch view rate from feed, early retention, and impression decay as your practical indicators.

Should I ask viewers not to tap it?

No. That's like asking them not to breathe. Instead, make content that's unmistakably for your people. The right viewers won't reach for the button.

The Takeaway

A "Not Interested" button makes Shorts smarter about taste and harsher on sloppy targeting. If you dial in your hook, clarity, and momentum, this shift can actually help your videos find the right viewers faster. If not, the feed will file you under "maybe later" - and we both know it means never.