Instagram is expanding the test to hide like counts which it first announced in May, to six more countries including Ireland, Italy, Japan, Brazil, Australia, and New Zealand. The test aims to “remove pressure” on users.
The test started in Canada, where people who were included in the test had their likes hidden by default. They had to opt-out to show the likes publicly, although they can always see that like count on their own content.
When the test was first run in Canada, Instagram chief Adam Mosseri said the aim was to minimise the stress of posting online with users competing over the number of likes their posts receive.
“We want people to worry a little bit less about how many likes they’re getting on Instagram and spend a bit more time connecting with the people that they care about,” he explained at the time.
We’re currently running a test that hides the total number of likes and video views for some people in the following countries:
✅ Australia
✅ Brazil
✅ Canada
✅ Ireland
✅ Italy
✅ Japan
✅ New Zealand pic.twitter.com/2OdzpIUBka— Instagram (@instagram) July 17, 2019
We’re looking forward to learning more about how this change might benefit everyone’s experience on Instagram.
— Instagram (@instagram) July 17, 2019
The feature hides users’ public like counts on videos and photos in the Feed, on the web, and within profiles.
Of course, likes have become a now acceptable way of placing value on a user’s posts. More likes on a post typically signify that a post is more impressive than another user’s, which can boost some people’s self-esteem while bringing down others’.
If you post a selfie that gets no likes, that’s a terrible feeling, for instance. Perhaps, hiding that public count will give people the permission to post more of the content they actually want to post, as opposed to photos that are guaranteed decent engagement.
Instagram also made recent moves to address bullying on the platform. Earlier this month, it announced a new tool that uses artificial intelligence to tell users when a comment could be considered offensive before it’s posted.
