Why Meta decides to remove Facebook Likes and Comment buttons from external websites by 2026

While Facebook's external like and comment buttons embedded on third-party websites, have been one of internet's most recognisable features, Meta has announced that it will discontinue the same.

They confirmed that support for these social plugins will end on February 10, 2026, as part of its wider plan to simplify and modernise developer tools. These plugins, originally introduced in 2010, once allowed users to react to and comment on content directly from other third-party sites — a key feature of the early web dominance and viral sharing ecosystem of this social media platform.

Why Meta decides to remove this option?

In a blog post, Meta mentioned that the phase-out would take place smoothly, and the plugins will be set to “gracefully degrade” by rendering as invisible 0x0 pixel elements, rather than disrupting the performncee of the website. The company has assured the developers that this transition would not trigger errors or break the site functionality, and would only remove the embedded content.

Meta also stated that the change reflects the declining usage of such integrations, as the wider internet and behavious of users have evolved over time. Also, stricter global privacy regulations play a role in declining of social plugins, which had once served as a bridge between Facebook's social graph and web publishers.

It is also important to note that this update will not affect the Like button within Facebook’s core platform itself, and users will still be able to react to posts, photos, and videos as usual. The move only impacts external buttons seen on blogs, news portals, and brand websites, which allowed users to engage using their Facebook accounts.

The Like button, launched back in 2009, became a symbol of approval and redefined online interaction. The reaction buttons, where you can put specific emojis against the reactions, came much later. For over a decade, publishers and marketers relied on these buttons to measure popularity, encourage engagement, and expand social reach. As per the company, this removal will allow them to focus more on tools, offering greater value to developers and to invest in future innovations, acrross platforms.

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