Instagram Now Allows Users to Hide "Likes" | Gadget theory

There has been increased pressure on Instagram to make changes to reduce the app’s negative impact on users’ mental health and it has taken a big step forward to achieve this.

The app now allows users to choose to suppress the number of “likes” on posts in the hopes of helping “depressurize people’s lives” while using the app, they say. .

Users will be able to hide themselves as accounts

Once the feature is enabled, users will see the username of a subscriber who liked the post with “and others” instead of the number of likes. This feature has been tested since 2019, but will now be available worldwide.

Instagram manager Adam Mosseri told BBC: “It took longer than I expected, but I’m pretty excited about… giving people more control over the experience. “

Interestingly, Instagram said that during its testing and research, the company found that removing likes had little impact on well-being or behavior, although many were concerned about it. use of the app, resulting in decreased mental health.

However, Mosseri said Instagram has added the feature so that “people feel food about the time they spend” when using the app.

He continued, “I think there is more to do in this space. The more we can give people the opportunity to shape Instagram and Facebook into what’s good for them, the better.

An account that hid like accounts

Even if a user has their likes count enabled, they still won’t be able to see the likes count on other accounts that have disabled it. Users will also be able to select specific posts to hide the number of “likes” before and after the post is posted to the app.

Mosseri said, “The spirit of this is to give people a choice. Maybe you want to be a little less worried about how many likes everyone gets for a few weeks or months, and then maybe you want to go back. If it is a one-way door, people tend to be reluctant to use the command.

Despite this, Instagram will still take into account the number of “likes” on a post when promoting posts to the feed, but it also takes into account other factors such as engagement and what the user is following. .

Mosseri said there had been mixed reactions from creators who make money through branded partnerships that rely on “like accounts,” but stressed that the new feature does not affect income.

This aims to reduce anxiety among Instagram users