Better Likes

Better Likes vs YouTube Like-Dislike Shortcut

YouTube Like-Dislike Shortcut by avi12 is a small, well-built extension. The thing it doesn't do — and openly says so in its own README — is reveal hidden dislike counts or add new reaction types. Better Likes's whole purpose is exactly that.

TL;DR

The Shortcut extension binds Shift+Plus / Shift+Minus / Numpad Plus / Numpad Minus to YouTube's own like/dislike buttons, and can auto-like videos based on watch time or channel subscription. That's it — its README states explicitly: "This extension does not reveal the videos' dislike counters."

Better Likes is a different category of product: it adds a reaction layer that the underlying platform doesn't offer at all. Emoji reactions, everywhere on the web — with one account per verified email.

At a glance

Better Likes YouTube Like-Dislike Shortcut
Primary job Bring emoji reactions to every site on the web Trigger YouTube's own like/dislike buttons via hotkey, plus auto-like
Sites covered Facebook, GitHub, Amazon — and growing YouTube only (per its own README)
Restores hidden dislike counts? N/A — different domain No. The README states this explicitly: "does not reveal the videos' dislike counters".
Number of reactions added Full emoji palette Zero — uses YouTube's existing Like/Dislike
License GPL-3 GPL-3 on the GitHub repo. The Firefox Add-ons card lists "MIT" and the Opera page lists "Copyright 2026 avi12" — a license mismatch worth noting.
Identity / anti-abuse Email-OTP, irreversible hash, salted IP rate-limit None required — the extension just clicks YouTube's own buttons inside the user's already-logged-in YouTube session.
Server side Counts, sessions, rate-limit (open source worker) None — purely client-side

Where Better Likes is the better choice

1. They aren't really competing — but if you came expecting "more dislike data", that's us, not them

A lot of users install YouTube Like-Dislike Shortcut hoping it will surface the hidden dislike counter. avi12 is admirably honest about this — the README literally says it doesn't. The extension is just hotkeys.

For YouTube specifically, the project that does estimate dislike counts is Return YouTube Dislike. We have a separate comparison with it that explains why even RYD's numbers are estimates rather than verified votes.

2. Better Likes works where YouTube isn't

Shortcut is YouTube-only by design. Better Likes covers a growing list of social, dev, and shopping sites today, and the architecture is built specifically so adding the next site is a small adapter — not a rewrite. Our DOM selectors live in a config that the server can hot-patch when a site changes markup, without re-shipping the extension.

3. Better Likes's reactions are aggregated; Shortcut's aren't

When Shortcut presses YouTube's like button, that vote goes straight into YouTube's account system — you're signed into Google, so there's nothing to fake. Better Likes has to solve a harder problem: it counts reactions across users who don't share a common login, on platforms where there is no "+1 button" to piggyback on.

Our solution is the email-OTP model. One real email = one real account = one real vote. The reaction count under any Facebook post in Better Likes is a count of verified people, not a count of anonymous installs.

4. Pick this over both: install both

We're being honest: if you want YouTube hotkeys, install the Shortcut. If you also want reactions on the social posts, products, and pages Better Likes supports, install Better Likes too. They don't conflict because they don't touch the same DOM.

Which one should you pick?

Pick YouTube Like-Dislike Shortcut if you watch a lot of YouTube and want keyboard hotkeys for the buttons YouTube already has.

Pick Better Likes if you want emoji reactions everywhere else on the web — with a verified-account model behind the counts.

Install Better Likes See other comparisons

Sources