Instagram Has Officially Started Hiding Likes Globally
Instagram has begun testing hiding likes for users worldwide. Yesterday, the company announced it was rolling out trials globally.
Those included in the trial will no longer see like counts and view numbers on other users' posts, and will only be able to see those numbers on their own content. Instagram claims it is introducing this feature to make users more comfortable genuinely liking content without being judged by the herd. This change could also make users more comfortable sharing their own posts without the public pressure of like counts.
Last week, Instagram announced it would expand the test to the US, but now it’s running everywhere to a small percentage of users in each country. It's the company's attempt at alleviating the negative impacts of social media. So far, Instagram claims results have been largely positive. It is unclear whether this will become a permanent feature on the platform.