Is Instagram Hiding Likes on Photos?
Instagram Is Going to Hide "Likes" For Some Users, So Get Ready to Ditch the Double Tap
Like it or not, Instagram is about to look different for a handful of users in the US. On 8 Nov. at Wired25, Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri announced the photo sharing app would be experimenting with hiding "like" counts on posts starting on Monday. This follows a similar experiment the platform conducted a few months ago in New Zealand, Canada, Japan, Ireland, Australia, Brazil, and Italy. According to the BBC, Instagram has not yet confirmed exactly when the trial will arrive in the UK, but the company has confirmed that it is set to roll out globally.
Adam explained the change is prompted by "young people" on the app and wanting to "depressurise Instagram [and] make it less of a competition and give people more space to focus on connecting with people that they love, things that inspire them." As part of the test, affected accounts will be able to see their own "likes" but not the metrics of the people they follow or other users.
Instagram users have expressed mixed reactions in the days following Adam's announcement. On one hand, people are praising the decision to move away from a likes-based culture and to emphasise connection. On the other, influencers who use the platform to monetise and market products are understandably upset and will inevitably be impacted. Rapper Cardi B even chimed in on Sunday to ask whether Instagram's commenting feature should be disabled before likes.
Ahead, see a few reactions people are having to the big change so far.
