Instagram users hide post Like count

Sophie Beard posted on 5 May 2021

Following two years of development we have learnt more about Instagram enabling users to hide their post like count from others.

On April 14th the Head of Intagram, Adam Mosseri, tweeted:

“Last year we started hiding like counts for a small group of people to see if it lessens some pressure when posting to Instagram. Some found this helpful and some still wanted to see like counts, in particular to track what’s popular. So we’re testing a new option that lets you decide the experience that’s best for you – whether that’s choosing not to see like counts on anyone else’s posts, turning them off for your own posts, or keeping the original experience.We’re testing this on Instagram to start and we’re exploring a similar experience for Facebook too. More to share about this soon.”

Testing began in 2019 in a handful of countries, including Australia, Ireland and Canada. Users were unable to see the like count for other users, but could see their own. At the time, Adam Mosseri told BuzzNews that the aim of this was “about creating a less pressurized environment where people feel comfortable expressing themselves.” The project was deprioristed due to Covid-19 so it remains to be seen when it will be completed and rolled out to all users, but for now, it’s back on the agenda.