Instagram to begin hiding like counts on posts sometime this week

Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri announced Nov. 8 at Wired25, a two day tech conference, that Instagram will begin hiding “like” counts on posts sometime this week.

At first, the likes will only disappear from a few random users at a time to test the feature. The company has been testing hiding likes in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Ireland, Italy, Japan and New Zealand since July, according to Wired.com.

Users will still be able to view the like count on their own posts, but not other users’ posts.

Mosseri stated last April, when they first started experimenting with removing the feature, that the goal of removing likes is to create “a less pressurized environment where people feel comfortable expressing themselves.”

Facebook, Twitter and Youtube have also experimented with removing like counts to stop influencers from aiming their content to receive more engagement, according to Wired.com.

Hiding like counts is Instagram’s latest step in becoming a safer app — the app already has algorithms in place to remove offensive comments and posts. 

Junior Addison Carroll is excited about the change because she thinks it will take away the competitive nature of the app.

“It is so great because nobody will be competitive or compare themselves or feel bad about not getting enough likes, or feel like they have a high ego when they get a lot of likes,” Carroll said.