Well #Roommates, Instagram is officially making good on its promise to hide the “likes” on certain user accounts, as they test the move in an effort to make the platform more beneficial and well-rounded. To give context to the new changes, Instagram provided a few more details about what all this means.
While many are still upset regarding Instagram deciding to hide “likes” as a way to test if the practice should be a permanent decision for everyone, the popular social media platform has offered some clarification via a series of posts on Twitter.
Instagram tweeted the following:
Starting today, we’re expanding our test of private like counts globally. If you’re in the test, you’ll no longer see the total number of likes and views on photos and videos posted to Feed unless they’re your own.
While the feedback from early testing in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Ireland, Italy, Japan and New Zealand has been positive, this is a fundamental change to Instagram, and so we’re continuing our test to learn more from our global community.
In addition, we understand that like counts are important for many creators, and we are actively thinking through ways for creators to communicate value to their partners.
Instagram users can still “like” content by double tapping on a photo, video, or by pressing the heart below a post, but there will now be no total shown for the number of “likes” a post receives.
Now, when an account you follow has “liked” someone else’s photo, it will say “[name of Instagram account] and others” under the post where likes would typically appear. Users can then click to see only a list of accounts that have liked the post.
Roommates, what are your thoughts on this?