Instagram Could Hide the Like Count on Photos

[MacRumors]

Instagram has considered hiding the like count on images uploaded to the social network, which would prevent people from seeing how many people have tapped the "heart" icon on each photo.

The feature was found by Jane Manchun Wong, who often hunts down features in testing in Instagram and Twitter. As depicted in an image shown by Wong, the like count on a photo is hidden by default and visible only by the person who posted the photo.

"We want your followers to focus on what you share, not how many likes your posts get. During this test, only the person who shared a post will see the total number of likes it gets," reads the description of the feature.

In a statement to The Verge, however, Instagram says that the feature is not being tested at the current time: "We're not testing this at the moment, but exploring ways to reduce pressure on Instagram is something we're always thinking about.

Hiding likes would fundamentally change the way Instagram works, as liking photos and garnering likes is one of the platform's main features.

Article Link: Instagram Could Hide the Like Count on Photos

 

[iModFrenzy]

Seems so pointless to change, but what do I know.

 

[DBZmusicboy01]

Facebook is killing Instagram more and more everyday this is ridiculous
Instagram used to be amazing back in 2012-2016 but ever since 2017 it has gone to crap.

 

[scrapesleon]

Seems more like Kanye Twitter tweet idea

 

[Intellectua1]

There goes a lot of Instagram models careers, they should hide the followers count too, that'd be hilarious!

 

[C DM]

Facebook is killing Instagram more and more everyday this is ridiculous
Instagram used to be amazing back in 2012-2016 but ever since 2017 it has gone to crap.

Does something like this "kill" Instagram?

 

[newyorksole]

Does something like this "kill" Instagram?

I think this will be optional, so it won’t kill IG. If it was a permanent feature for everyone it would definitely hurt “influencers” and other people.

A lot of people thrive off of how many followers and likes they have. Take that away and they’ll feel terrible.

 

[Saipher]

This would be great! I believe a lot of teens, and some adults too, feel pressured to receive likes as a measure of their social acceptance or status. This would alleviate the problem.

 

[iBreatheApple]

I’m for it but people who use this as a monetary/business platform are gonna be piiiised. Likes and metrics are what get people (models, DJs, whoever) bookings.

 

[JoEw]

Strangely I think this would be good for the platform long term, the like thing is quickly becoming a poison on people’s minds. Instagram doesn’t want to be the next Facebook. They should double down on photos.

 

[nfl46]

I like this idea! I know some people who lose their minds if their post doesn’t get x amount of likes. Yeah, I know, it’s beyond ridiculous!

Poor IG models, though. Lol.

 

[viachicago22]

I’m for it but people who use this as a monetary/business platform are gonna be piiiised. Likes and metrics are what get people (models, DJs, whoever) bookings.

Great call and exactly why it will never happen

 

[dampfnudel]

This would be great! I believe a lot of teens, and some adults too, feel pressured to receive likes as a measure of their social acceptance or status. This would alleviate the problem.

I think that’s one of the main reasons they would consider doing this. It would also be a good step in the right direction to deal effectively with the glut of influencers and wannabe influencers who have made the service a bloated, meaningless shell of what it once was. They could create a separate app for influencers called Instafluencers (which they would charge a fee for) and keep the commercialization/influencer bloat out of Instagram. When you have too many influencers peeing in the same pool, people will begin to reconsider their decision to get into the pool.

 

[squizzler]

This will be so good for mental health of users. Way to go!

 

[roblognick]

This is just going to lead to “influencers” posting screenshots of their like count. Absolutely pointless.

 

[Zxxv]

In other news - macrumors to remove like button from posts following Instagram removal of feature

 

[MichaelBarry]

It’s not like they’re removing likes, it might hurt influencers etc initially but fundamentally, the impressions and reach metrics are still there.

It’s smart on instagrams part because it funnels influencers and businesses into paying for influence

 

[JayJohnPaul]

Excellent news for those peeps who get about 10 likes or less per post.

 

[HacKage]

This is a good thing. Teens are having ever increasing levels of mental health issues, bullying and even suicide over what happens on social media. People who have their accounts disabled have breakdowns, or bullied over the amount of likes a post gets.

The sooner we get away from "influencers" and their ilk, the better for society as a whole. What started off as a nice way to share photos with some dated filters in hindsight has become poison for so many affected people.

 

[JetTester]

If you like my post, I'll like yours. No, wait, who will know?

 

[definitive]

Holy moly! Imagine the uproar from all the selfie/butt thots if they take away the likes feature.

 

[shadowbird423]

"'During this test, only the person who shared a post will see the total number of likes it gets,' reads the description of the feature."

This won't solve the problem unfortunately. The opposite of the way they're implementing this would be great.

 

[Saipher]

I think that’s one of the main reasons they would consider doing this. It would also be a good step in the right direction to deal effectively with the glut of influencers and wannabe influencers who have made the service a bloated, meaningless shell of what it once was. They could create a separate app for influencers called Instafluencers (which they would charge a fee for) and keep the commercialization/influencer bloat out of Instagram. When you have too many influencers peeing in the same pool, people will begin to reconsider their decision to get into the pool.

I completely agree. The whole Instagram influencer thing is completely out of hand. There are a couple of hashtags I follow on Instagram and they get completely spammed with things that have nothing to do with what the actual hashtag is about, and they are mostly from “influencers” trying to reach new followers. It’s super annoying! My feed gets inundated with all these things that I have no interest because of that, so what’s the point of following a hashtag? When that happens, I usually just flag the post as spam and move on.

 

[RevTEG]

What shall I do? Seeing the amount of likes I get is how I rate my self-esteem for the day...

 

[modul8tr]

This is how it always should have been.

If your mind has been warped to the point that little hearts sent to you by strangers determine your sense of self/happiness...well, that’s on you and seek therapy. It’s INSANE, and I can’t believe we are living in a culture where we as a society accept it as normal.

There was never a reason to display likes to followers other than “look at me” narcissism.

 

[michelb76]

If they had a product vision they would just do this, instead of 'leaking' this through blogs to gauge impact and outcry.