Three years ago, in 2019, social media networks came under significant pressure about how their platforms impacted users’ mental health. A lack of likes, views, and a deluge of negative comments was regarded as contributing to this global epidemic.
To address the issue, Instagram decided it would test a feed without any likes. In other words, the person posting an image on the platform would still be able to see how many hearts (likes) they got on the post, but the total number would remain invisible to other users.
The idea was to depressurize Instagram and focus more on connecting people with others who inspire them. After two years of testing, Instagram found that removing like counts did not in fact ‘depressurize’ Instagram, and made the decision to rather give people a choice.
Now, likes will be publicly viewable by default. But, all users have the ability to switch them off to hide likes and views on Instagram, either on a per-post basis or for their whole feed.
How To Hide Likes On Instagram
Instagram makes it easy to turn off likes for your Instagram posts before or after you publish them, and can do it only on selected posts if you prefer.
How To Turn Off Likes On An Instagram Post Before Posting It
With just a couple of taps, you can do this for those posts where you don’t want to count likes and views. It’s quick and easy. Follow these steps:
- Create your Instagram post, whether it’s an Instagram Story, Video or Image
- On the last screen before posting, scroll to the end of the page and tap “Advanced Settings”
- At the top of the screen, tap the slider toggle on the button next to Hide Like and View Accounts on This Post
- Go back using the back arrow
- Share the post as normal
How To Hide Likes On An Instagram Post You’ve Already Published
Maybe you want to depressurize a post you made that’s either getting a lot of likes or hardly any at all. In this case, hiding the likes from your view will give you the freedom of putting it out there without judging its success based purely on how many other users tapped the heart icon.
- Go to the post where you want to hide Instagram likes.
- Tap the three dots (aka the ‘hamburger icon’) that sit in the upper-right corner above your post.
- Tap Hide Like Count.
- What you’ll then see, instead of a like count, is the text: “Liked by [one username] and others.”
How To Hide Like Counts On Others’ Posts
During their testing, Instagram found that many people really liked the idea of a no-pressure Instagram where it was not about competition for likes, but just sharing content. If this is you, you may want to hide not only your own likes on posts but the likes and views on other accounts.
Here’s how to do it.
- Go to your profile
- Tap on the hamburger icon in the upper-right corner of the screen
- Tap on Settings found at the top of the menu
- Use the search bar to search for Posts
- Choose Posts to go to Likes and Views
- Use the blue slider toggle to turn on “Hide Like and View Counts”
That’s it. Now you won’t see the total number of likes and views on posts from other accounts. Easy.
Can’t Hide Likes On Instagram?
If you’ve read this but are still wondering “Why can’t I hide my likes on Instagram”, don’t worry. Someone hasn’t hacked your Instagram account and your app is still working fine. It is simply a case of you not having the latest version of Instagram on your phone.
Check to see if you’re using the most recent version of Instagram by visiting the App Store (or the Google Play Store.
Last Words
The good thing about hiding likes on a post on Instagram is the fact that you are only hiding the likes. The count is still there, and you can switch it on at any time if you want to measure its impact on Instagram’s 1 billion users.
Knowing how to hide likes on Instagram is easy, it’s reversible, and it just might have a positive impact on how you experience the app.
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