These Are Facebook’s New ‘Like’ Button Alternatives

Not everything on Facebook is worthy of a ‘Like.’ That’s why the social network announced in 2015 that it would be adding new “reaction buttons” that allow people to quickly convey other emotions below posts.

Now, in an in-depth Bloomberg feature, Facebook has at last revealed the final roster of buttons: angry, sad, wow, haha, and love.

Users will still see the traditional thumbs-up “Like” below posts, but if they hold the button down for a moment on mobile devices, a menu featuring the other reaction options will appear. The buttons will be animated to better convey their meaning—the angry button will grow red in rage, for example. A sixth new button, “yay,” was cut because it was not universally understood, according to a company spokesperson.

In addition to giving users more forms of expression, the new buttons will help Facebook hoover up more data about what types of posts people are engaging with, which could boost the quality of users’ News Feeds and help the site serve more relevant ads. Facebook has been testing the buttons in foreign markets in recent months and is expected to roll them out in the U.S. in the next few weeks.

[Bloomberg]