{"id":24531,"date":"2021-05-27T05:51:14","date_gmt":"2021-05-27T05:51:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rbsitsoftwaresolution.com\/blog\/facebook-and-instagram-will-now-allow-users-to-hide-like-counts-on-posts.html"},"modified":"2021-05-27T05:51:14","modified_gmt":"2021-05-27T05:51:14","slug":"facebook-and-instagram-will-now-allow-users-to-hide-like-counts-on-posts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rbsitsoftwaresolution.in\/blog\/facebook-and-instagram-will-now-allow-users-to-hide-like-counts-on-posts.html","title":{"rendered":"Facebook and Instagram will now allow users to hide \u2018Like\u2019 counts on posts"},"content":{"rendered":"

Facebook this week will begin to<\/a> publicly roll out the option to hide Likes on posts across both Facebook and Instagram, following earlier tests<\/a> beginning in 2019. The project, which puts the decision about Likes in the hands of the company\u2019s global user base, had been in development for years, but was deprioritized due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the response work required on Facebook\u2019s part, the company says.<\/p>\n

Originally, the idea to hide Like counts on Facebook\u2019s social networks was focused on depressurizing the experience for users. Often, users faced anxiety and embarrassment around their posts if they didn\u2019t receive enough Likes to be considered \u201cpopular.\u201d This problem was particularly difficult for younger users who highly value what peers think of them \u2014 so much so that they would take down posts<\/a> that didn\u2019t receive enough Likes.<\/p>\n

Like-chasing on Instagram, especially, also helped create an environment where people posted to gain clout and notoriety, which can be a less authentic experience. On Facebook, gaining Likes or other forms of engagement could also be associated with posting polarizing content that required a reaction.<\/p>\n

As a result of this pressure to perform, some users grew hungry for a \u201cLike-free\u201d safer space, where they could engage with friends or the wider public without trying to earn these popularity points. That, in turn, gave rise to a new crop of social networking and photo-sharing apps such as Minutiae<\/a>,\u00a0Vero<\/a>,\u00a0Dayflash<\/a>,\u00a0Oggl<\/a> and, now, newcomers like\u00a0Dispo<\/a> and newly viral Poparazzi<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n

Spark Capital decides to \u2018sever all ties\u2019 with David Dobrik\u2019s Dispo app weeks after leading deal<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\n

Though Facebook and Instagram could have chosen to remove Likes entirely and take its social networks in a new direction, the company soon found that the metric was too deeply integrated into the product experience to be fully removed. One key issue was how the influencer community today trades on Likes as a form of currency that allows them to exchange their online popularity for brand deals and job opportunities. Removing Likes, then, is not necessarily an option for these users.<\/p>\n

Instagram realized that if it made a decision for its users, it would anger one side or the other \u2014 even if the move in either direction didn\u2019t really impact other core metrics, like app usage.<\/p>\n

\n

Image Credits:<\/strong> Instagram<\/p>\n

\u201cHow many likes [users] got, or other people got \u2014 it turned out that it didn\u2019t actually change nearly as much about the experience, in terms of how people felt or how much they use the experience, as we thought it would. But it did end up being pretty polarizing,\u201d admitted Instagram head, Adam Mosseri. \u201cSome people really liked it and some people really didn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFor those who liked it, it was mostly what we had hoped \u2014 which is that it depressurized the experience. And, for those who didn\u2019t, they used Likes to get a sense for what was trending or was relevant on Instagram and on Facebook. And they were just super annoyed that we took it away,\u201d he added. This latter group sometimes included smaller creators still working on establishing a presence across social media, though larger influencers were sometimes in favor of Like removals. (Mosseri name-checked Katy Perry as being pro Like removals, in fact.)<\/p>\n

\n

MIT professor wants to overhaul \u2018The Hype Machine\u2019 that powers social media<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\n

Ultimately, the company decided to split the difference. Instead of making a hard choice about the future of its online communities, it\u2019s rolling out the \u201cno Likes\u201d option as a user-controlled setting on both platforms.<\/p>\n

On Instagram, both content consumers and content producers can turn on or off Like and View counts on posts \u2014 which means you can choose to not see these metrics when scrolling your own Feed and you can choose whether to allow Likes to be viewed by others when you\u2019re posting. These are configured as two different settings, which provides for more flexibility and control.<\/p>\n

\n

Image Credits:<\/strong> Instagram<\/p>\n

On Facebook, meanwhile, users access the new setting from the \u201cSettings Privacy\u201d area under News Feed Settings (or News Feed Preferences on desktop). From here, you\u2019ll find an option to \u201cHide number of reactions\u201d to turn this setting off for both your own posts and for posts from others in News Feed, groups and Pages.<\/p>\n

The feature will be made available to both public and private profiles, Facebook tells us, and will include posts you\u2019ve published previously.<\/p>\n

\n

Image Credits:<\/strong> Facebook<\/p>\n

Instagram last month restarted its tests on this feature<\/a>\u00a0in order to work out any final bugs before making the new settings live for global users, and said a Facebook test would come soon. But it\u2019s now forging ahead with making the feature available publicly. When asked why such a short test, Instagram told TechCrunch it had been testing various iterations on this experience since 2019, so it felt it had enough data to proceed with a global launch.<\/p>\n

\n

Instagram\u2019s new test lets you choose if you want to hide \u2018Likes,\u2019 Facebook test to follow<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\n

Mosseri also pushed back at the idea that a decision on Likes would have majorly impacted the network. While removal of Likes on Instagram had some impact on user behavior, he said, it was not enough to be concerning. In some groups, users posted more \u2014 signaling that they felt less pressure to perform, perhaps. But others engaged less, Mosseri said.<\/p>\n

\n

Image Credits:<\/strong> Facebook<\/p>\n

\u201cOften people say, \u2018oh, this has a bunch of Likes. I\u2019m gonna go check it out,\u2019 \u201d the exec explained. \u201cThen they read the comments, or go deeper, or swipe to the carousel. There\u2019s been some small effects \u2014 some positive, some negative \u2014 but they\u2019ve all been small,\u201d he noted. Instagram also believes users may toggle on and off the feature at various times, based on how they\u2019re feeling.<\/p>\n

In addition, Mosseri pointed out, \u201cthere\u2019s no rigorous research that suggests Likes are bad for people\u2019s well-being\u201d \u2014 a statement that pushes back over the growing concerns that a gamified social media space is bad for users\u2019 mental health. Instead, he argued that Instagram is still a small part of people\u2019s day, so how Likes function doesn\u2019t affect people\u2019s overall well-being.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs big as we are, we have to be careful not to overestimate our influence,\u201d Mosseri said.<\/p>\n

He also dismissed some of the current research pointing to negative impacts of social media use as being overly reliant on methodologies that ask users to self-report their use, rather than measure it directly.<\/p>\n

In other words, this is not a company that feels motivated to remove Likes entirely due to the negative mental health outcomes attributed to its popularity metrics.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s worth mentioning that another factor that could have come into play here is Instagram\u2019s plan to make a version of its app available to children under the age of 13,<\/a> as competitor TikTok did following its FTC settlement<\/a>. In that case, hiding Likes by default \u2014 or perhaps adding a parental control option \u2014 would necessitate such a setting. Instagram tells TechCrunch that, while it\u2019s too soon to know what it would do with a kids app, it will \u201cdefinitely explore\u201d a no Likes by default option.<\/p>\n

Facebook and Instagram both told TechCrunch the feature will roll out starting on Wednesday but will reach global users over time. On Instagram, that may take a matter of days.<\/p>\n

Facebook, meanwhile, says a small percentage of users will have the feature Wednesday \u2014 notified through an alert on News Feed \u2014 but it will reach Facebook\u2019s global audience \u201cover the next few weeks.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

State AGs tell Facebook to scrap Instagram for kids plans<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\n

Article source: http:\/\/feedproxy.google.com\/~r\/techcrunch\/social\/~3\/AbSe7oMS6pk\/<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Facebook this week will begin to publicly roll out the option to hide Likes on posts across both Facebook and Instagram, following earlier tests beginning in 2019. The project, which <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3],"tags":[10,7,14,15,6,12,11],"class_list":["post-24531","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-latest-update","tag-computer-news","tag-downloads","tag-microsoft-download-news","tag-networking-updates","tag-technology-update","tag-wordpress-plugin-download","tag-wordpress-theme-download"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t