Instagram will soon let users choose to hide likes

Instagram has revealed it could give users the option to hide likes on their feed, in a move aimed to protect mental health.

The Facebook-owned photo-sharing app said it is about to conduct ‘a small global test’ of the feature, which will let users choose what experience is best for them.

The popular app began hiding like counts for users in seven countries back in 2019 to understand if it ‘reduces pressure associated with posting’.

But the trial received some negative user feedback – leading to Instagram making a few alterations this time around.

This time, users will be able to choose whether they see likes on other users’ posts, as well as whether other users see likes on their posts. For the 2019 test, users didn’t have this choice.

Instagram has concerns that seeing a post with thousands of likes can lead to feelings of low self-worth for users who only get a few likes or have just a handful of followers.

Daily Mail