Finally, you’ll be able to hide Facebook and Instagram likes on the platforms, as the social media giant is giving users the option to turn off likes.
The feature has been in the works since 2019 and previously available in select countries but Facebook has been slow to release it generally.
Back then, a UK study revealed that Instagram is the worst social media platform when it came to the impact it had on teenagers and young adults, contributing to low self-esteem issues and feelings of inadequacy.
If you’re ready to give up attention, which has been gamified by social media and made us all chase likes and follows, you’ll be able to turn off the like count on the posts you share on Facebook’s main platforms.
“We hope this test will remove the pressure of how many likes a post will receive, so you can focus on sharing the things you love,” said in 2019 Mia Garlick, Facebook Australia and New Zealand director of policy.
Right now, you can turn off public like counts on both Facebook and Instagram, hiding not just the number of likes other posts have but also how many of them you get as well.
The feature is opt-in, so every user will have to finetune their experience.
““We tested hiding like counts to see if it might depressurize people’s experience on Instagram.
What we heard from people and experts was that not seeing like counts was beneficial for some and annoying to others, particularly because people use like counts to get a sense of what’s trending or popular, so we’re giving you the choice,” explained Instagram.
If you want to make the move, here’s how you can hide like counts.
To hide the number of likes on Facebook, open the mobile app, then go to Settings & Privacy > Settings > News Feed Settings > Reaction Counts, where you can pick if you hide like numbers on your own posts or posts from others.
To hide likes in Instagram, simply go to your profile, click the top-right corner menu, select Settings, then Posts. Here you will find a toggle for “Hide Like and View Counts”.
Let’s see if this option finally makes some people less addicted to the validation they receive online! Do you think it will?
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