A reaction lets you say more than Like: hover over Like on a post or comment and pick one, and you can leave only one reaction per post or comment. Facebook's Help lists the reactions as like, love, haha, wow, sad and angry, says anyone who can see a post can see that you liked it, and, as of Nov 2026, says it uses angry reactions as one of the signals for ranking content in Feed.
That last part is the bit most business owners don't know. A reaction isn't only a mood. One of them feeds into how far a post travels. Here's what Facebook's own Help Centre says about each piece.
What a reaction is for
Facebook puts it simply. Liking tells your friends you enjoyed their post or comment. Reacting lets you say what kind of response you're having. You can only leave one per post or comment, so a reaction replaces your like rather than sitting next to it.
On a computer, Facebook's steps are:
- Go to the post or comment you want to react to.
- Hover over Like.
- Choose a reaction.
The most popular reactions then show as icons below the post or comment. If you picked the wrong one, changing or removing a reaction is a quick fix.
The six on Facebook's list
Facebook's Help page on liking says reactions include like, love, haha, wow, sad and angry. Those are the six it names, in words, and I'll stick to them. The names do most of the explaining.
For a business Page, the mix tells you more than the total. A post that gets plenty of love and haha is landing. A post that gets sad on a serious announcement is people responding as you'd hope. A pile of angry is a different story, and it's the one with a consequence.
Who sees your reaction
Facebook says that, just like a comment, anyone who can see a post can see that you liked it. Its example is a friend's video: people who can see the video can see your like, and the person who posted it gets a notification.
There's a quieter effect too. Facebook says that when you like something, it tells Facebook to show you other content it thinks you'd also like. So what you react to shapes your own Feed. If you scroll as your business Page, that's worth knowing.
On your own posts, you can see exactly who reacted and how:
- Go to your post or comment.
- Click the reaction icons directly below it.
- Select an icon at the top to see who chose that reaction.
Angry reactions and how far a post travels
This is the insight that matters for anyone posting for a business. Facebook says posts that get a lot of angry reactions tend to be a factor in negative experiences on Facebook. It says it uses angry reactions to evaluate and rank content in Feed, and that if a post has a lot of them, this may affect whether it's shown to other people.
Read that carefully. Facebook doesn't say angry reactions bury a post. It says they may affect who sees it. But it's the only reaction Facebook's Help singles out as a ranking signal, so a post that draws outrage might not get the reach that a busy comment section suggests.
If a post starts attracting angry reactions and arguments, you've got options beyond deleting it. One of them is turning off comments on a Facebook post, which stops the thread growing while you decide what to do.
No dislike button, so what instead
Facebook says there isn't a dislike button. Its answer is reactions, and beyond that you can hide, snooze or unfollow a post, or report something you don't like. Facebook says this lets it know you don't want to see similar posts in the future. That's a much stronger signal about your Feed than scrolling past.
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Hide the numbers, not the names
Facebook has two separate settings under Reaction preferences, and they're easy to mix up. Here's how they compare with the other reaction tools, as of Nov 2026:
| Setting or action | What it does | What it doesn't do |
|---|---|---|
| React to a post or comment | Shows your specific response; one per post or comment | Let you add a second reaction alongside the first |
| Hide counts on your posts and reels | Stops people seeing the total on posts and reels you create from your timeline or Feed | Hide totals on things you post in groups, events and Pages, or hide who reacted |
| Hide counts on other people's posts | Hides the totals you see on ads in Feed and on other people's posts and reels | Hide who reacted; you can still tap the words next to the icon |
| Quiet mode on a live video | Hides comments and reactions while you watch a live video on a computer | Change anything for other viewers |
| See who reacted | Shows who chose each reaction on your post or comment | Show anything on posts that aren't yours |
To hide the totals on your own posts and reels:
- Click your profile picture in the top right of Facebook.
- Click Settings and privacy, then Settings.
- Click Reaction preferences.
- Use the toggle next to On your posts and reels.
Two catches. You can't hide counts on individual posts, it's all or nothing. And you'll still see the totals on your own posts. Hiding likes on Facebook goes through the other toggle in more detail.
Reels, videos and live
Reels and videos work a little differently. On a computer you can like a reel, which shows the creator you enjoyed it. To leave any reaction other than like on a reel or video, Facebook says to use the Facebook app for iPhone or Android. Likes on reels and videos can be seen by other people.
Watching a live video on a computer and finding the stream of reactions distracting? Hover over the video and click the icon in the bottom right to turn quiet mode on. Click it again to bring comments and reactions back.
How I'd read them for a business Page
I'd look at which reactions a post gets, not only how many, and I'd treat a run of angry reactions as a reach problem as well as a mood problem. I'd skip hiding your own counts on a business profile unless the numbers are putting you off posting; people still see who reacted anyway. And I'd skip chasing outrage for engagement, because angry is the one reaction Facebook says it uses to decide what to show less of.
This guide is part of my Facebook Help: 80 Guides to Pages, Groups, Ads, Stories and Fixes.
Frequently asked questions
What reactions are there on Facebook?
Facebook's Help lists like, love, haha, wow, sad and angry. You can leave one reaction per post or comment.
Can people see my reactions on Facebook?
Yes. Facebook says anyone who can see a post can see that you liked it, and the person who posted gets a notification.
Do angry reactions affect reach on Facebook?
Facebook says it uses angry reactions to rank content in Feed, and a post with a lot of them may be shown to fewer people.
Can I hide who reacted to my Facebook post?
No. Facebook's Reaction preferences setting hides the total number of reactions, but it doesn't hide who reacted.
