Instagram is testing the removal of how many likes a post has from the view of other users. It mentioned the test earlier this week when it tweeted that it had accidentally added more users to the test but that the issue had been rectified. Although like counts have been a staple of Instagram since it was launched and the idea of removing them will be entirely new to many users, Instagram has discussed the idea for a number of years and they've actually already been removed for some users in a number of countries.
Testing of the concept first began in Canada in 2019, before being expanded to Ireland, Italy, Japan, Brazil, Australia, New Zealand, and the US later that year. Instead of seeing the number of likes someone else's post has, users simply see that a post is 'Liked by' one named account along with 'others.' Users can see likes on their own posts, but accounts who follow them cannot.
As its tweet indicates, the testing is ongoing. Instagram put the addition of extra users to the test down to a bug that it had since fixed. In addition, it advised that users for whom like counts had suddenly been removed could restore them by simply pulling down to refresh their feed.
Why Is Instagram Removing Likes?
When Instagram first began testing the concept of private likes at the start of 2019, company head Adam Mosseri told BuzzFeed News it was "about creating a less pressurized environment where people feel comfortable expressing themselves." He explained that there was a recognition within Instagram that some users worry about how many likes their posts get, ultimately indicating that the mental health of users was the driving factor.
Mosseri elaborated on this at Wired25 later in the year, saying: "It's about young people. The idea is to try and depressurize Instagram, making it less of a competition, give people more space to focus on connecting with the people that they love and the things that inspire them."
The suggestion that focusing on the number of likes that posts get can cause anxiety among some is widely recognized and the idea of removing like counts to counter this is obviously a proactive step. The idea that the benefits would also go further, though, by allowing users to focus more on content and connections — thereby actually improving the user experience — is perhaps something fewer people have considered.
Interestingly, Mosseri has noted that Instagram's Stories feature was part of the inspiration for the testing, presumably suggesting that engagement on Stories posts remains strong despite them not having like counts. Among the things that he has said the testing will look at is how the removal of like counts affects how people feel about using Instagram, how they use the platform, and the creator ecosystem.
Source: Instagram 1, 2, BuzzFeed News, Wired