For years now, sister social media apps, Instagram and Facebook have been testing a feature that m hides the like counts, but the social networks are finally ready to bring the feature to everyone.
Facebook has announced that every Instagram and Facebook user will be able to hide the number of likes on their post from the public.
The feature is currently getting rolled out to Instagram users first, while a similar feature would be launched for Facebook users in coming weeks.
On Instagram, users can now opt to either hide likes for your individual posts, or for all posts. This could be done for both personal posts, and posts of the people you follow.
To hide the number of likes on an individual post, users would simply have to tap on the overflow button (three-dot menu) next to an image and select the new “hide like count” option from the menu. Easy peasy lemon squeezy.
For users that wants to pre-emptively hide likes before a specific post, the option can be found under the “advanced settings” button that shows up on the final page before you share a post.
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Also, if users want to stop seeing number of likes on any posts on their feed, they can find the option by going to the new “Posts’ section” of settings. Users might also see a prompt when the Instagram app is open – this setting would be available soon.
Instagram admits that during its testing period, it discovered that hiding likes “was beneficial for some and annoying to others, particularly because people use like counts to get a sense of what’s trending or popular.”
Now you have the option to go either, so you can live your own truth.