News: 0180030356

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Meta Is Killing Off the External Facebook Like Button (engadget.com)

(Monday November 10, 2025 @10:30PM (BeauHD) from the end-of-an-era dept.)


Meta is [1]retiring Facebook's external Like and Share buttons for third-party websites on February 10, 2026, officially closing the book on a once-dominant traffic driver as usage declines and Facebook's role within Meta continues to shrink.Engadget reports:

> The [2]blog post from Meta explains that site admins shouldn't have to take any additional steps as a result of the change, although they can choose to remove the plugins before the discontinue date. Any remaining plugins will "gracefully degrade," which sounds much more dramatic than what will actually happen, which is that they'll render as a 0x0 invisible element.



[1] https://www.engadget.com/meta-is-killing-off-the-external-facebook-like-button-205207354.html

[2] https://developers.facebook.com/blog/post/2025/11/10/platform-evolution-facebook-social-plugins-to-be-discontinued-february-2026/



Re: a 0x0 invisible element (Score:2)

by Tomahawk ( 1343 )

The X on the top corner of an ad!

Re: (Score:2)

by Tony Isaac ( 1301187 )

It's especially perfect for a facebook like button.

Decline solved by removing features (Score:3)

by sinkskinkshrieks ( 6952954 )

Absolute genius. /s

Re: (Score:2)

by evanh ( 627108 )

Followed by Meta deletes Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. And the world celebrates.

Why isn't there ever a hate button? (Score:3)

by Valgrus Thunderaxe ( 8769977 )

I usually don't like anything I see on I Facebook, and I'm much more inclined to hate it, so maybe there should be a button for that?

Re: (Score:2)

by sg_oneill ( 159032 )

> Why isn't there ever a hate button?

There is! Its up the top of the browser window, and looks like a little [x] in the tab next to the tab name

Re: (Score:2)

by eneville ( 745111 )

Facebook want you to be unhappy/outraged, their research shows anger drives engagement. This was why there's angry react emojis, people respond to it. Give up Facebook and you'll be happier.

Re: Why isn't there ever a hate button? (Score:2)

by Big Hairy Gorilla ( 9839972 )

Coming from a grizzled old Viking or video game character that question seems naive or maybe sarcastic .. but I'll bite.

It's a trap. You will think the way we tell you to think. Like it, buddy, or fuck off. Everything is a use case and a process funnel leading to a prescribed outcome. You aren't allowed to hate something.

It implies there are no other alternatives. It removes subtlety and choice. Also pragmatically, you have to edit and limit all program inputs so bad data isn't entered, practical for databa

...and nothing of value was lost. (Score:2)

by Excelcia ( 906188 )

!

How would I know? (Score:2)

by Shakes Fist ( 10502847 )

My browser blocks/hides social media like-links - I haven't seen a "Like" icon in years.

Re: (Score:2)

by ndsurvivor ( 891239 )

I never 'hit that', seemed like a spamming waste of time to me.

Facebook, the new AOL (Score:1)

by p51d007 ( 656414 )

How long until Fakebook goes the way of AOL?

Re: (Score:2)

by RitchCraft ( 6454710 )

AOL is still a zombie crawling around on the Internet. Facebook soon to join the zombie apocalypse I hope. Another aspect of the dead Internet theory.

Nobody actually uses the web (Score:2)

by Big Hairy Gorilla ( 9839972 )

You use a web browser to book a flight, do banking, use medical or municipal services, shopping. You are actually working for those companies by doing data entry. The web is for getting work done now.

Searching and getting back all AI generated blog style websites of bland garbage has killed the usefulness of the web. People would likely use TikTok or favorite social media app, and never or rarely leave it.

Beyond the aforementioned use cases, the web is garbagized (TM). It's unusable because everything is p

A manager went to his programmers and told them: "As regards to your
work hours: you are going to have to come in at nine in the morning and leave
at five in the afternoon." At this, all of them became angry and several
resigned on the spot.
So the manager said: "All right, in that case you may set your own
working hours, as long as you finish your projects on schedule." The
programmers, now satisfied, began to come in a noon and work to the wee
hours of the morning.
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