Instagram is Once Again Testing Hiding Likes
Instagram's “hiding likes” chapter is far from closed.
Francis Scialabba
· less than 3 min read
Get marketing news you'll actually want to read
The email newsletter guaranteed to bring you the latest stories shaping the marketing and advertising world, like only the Brew can.
After Instagram tested hiding likes again earlier this week, some marketers were spooked. Are likes being hidden once and for all?
Record scratch: You’re probably wondering how we got here.
- In 2019, Instagram said it would test hiding like counts on posts.
- Since then, the platform has experimented with removing likes to different degrees in various parts of the world—Australian likes, for instance, are currently in hiding. 🦘
What we’re in for
This week’s test was more widespread than intended. “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,” Instagram said.
But that doesn’t mean the “hiding likes” chapter is closed.
- “We are testing this because we want Instagram to be a place where people feel comfortable expressing themselves. This includes helping people to focus on the photos and videos they share, not how many likes they get,” a Facebook spokesperson told Marketing Brew.
Get marketing news you'll actually want to read
The email newsletter guaranteed to bring you the latest stories shaping the marketing and advertising world, like only the Brew can.