Instagram Debuts New Test, Will Allow Users To Hide Their Likes

According to new updates, Facebook is soon set to debut an essential new study. Through Instagram, a randomly selected group of users will be authorized to test out a new “hidden likes” feature. 

Under the new feature, users will have the option to hide the like counts on both their and others’ posts. 

Instagram accidentally deployed the feature back in March and received large amounts of backlash from users who had received no prior warnings. 

After the fact, Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri wrote on Twitter, “FYI we unintentionally launched our test to hide likes to more people today. Our apologies.”

Similarly, Instagram Comms tweeted, “We’ve been testing a new experience to hide likes on Feed posts. We unintentionally added more people to the test today, which was a bug — we’re fixing this issue and restoring like counts to those people as soon as possible.”

These updates will likely be accompanied by a feature that lets users hide their likes from other users as part of a push to remove the mental health stigma around posting on Instagram.

On Wednesday, Facebook put out the following statement:

“In 2019, we started hiding like counts for a small group of people to understand if it lessens some pressure when posting to Instagram. Some people found this beneficial, but some still wanted to see like counts so they could track what’s popular. So, we’re testing a new option that lets you decide the experience that’s best for you—whether that’s choosing not to see like counts on anyone else’s posts, turning them off for your own posts, or keeping the original experience. We’re testing this on Instagram to start, but we’re also exploring a similar experience for Facebook. We will learn from this new small test and have more to share soon.” 

The feature has received mixed feedback from users and will likely encounter an initial pushback from social media influencers. 

The test is initially going to be debuted on a small scale, and further action will be impacted by the user feedback provided by their random sample. 

Various studies have previously linked Instagram’s usage with depression, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts. Instagram hopes to cut down that stigma with this new feature, and time will tell if they can succeed in doing so.