About 3 years ago, Instagram, one of the biggest social media platforms in the world, decided to conduct a peculiar test: hiding the like count on every post that was shared on the platform. This decision was made in an attempt to reduce the effects of social pressure the website presumably fueled. Hiding likes was seen as the solution to the concerning surge of mental illnesses plaguing Instagram users, especially women and teenagers.
Users could still like posts, but the total amount of likes would only be visible to the user who originally shared the post. By not being able to see how many likes someone’s picture got, users would have felt more at ease while browsing the platform, because the climate of competition that characterized IG would have finally come to an end.
This initiative was undoubtedly a positive one, since its goal was to protect the mental health of Instagram users that didn’t have that much success and engagement. The platform, in fact, became quite a toxic environment over the last few years. An environment that hosted a contest of popularity that made “unpopular” users – those who don’t get many likes – feel inferior and disheartened.
But after some time, the testing was called off. There was actually no evidence that could prove that Instagram users’ mental health improved by taking those measures, and there was also another important thing to consider. We’re at a point in time in which some people’s livelihoods depend on Instagram likes. Profiles that have a high level of engagement get selected by brands and companies to promote their products and services. This means that some successful IG content creators’ only source of income is brand deals. And how do you measure an Instagram profile’s success? By the number of followers, comments and, of course, likes.
Nowadays, it’s up to you whether you want the likes on your posts to show or not. But since you clicked on this article, you probably want to know how to hide Instagram likes. Then, let’s see how it’s done!
How to turn off Instagram likes
Hiding likes on Instagram is extremely easy, it will only take you a couple steps. We’re going to find out how we can hide likes on a post you’re about to share, a post you already shared, and also on posts from other users.
Hide likes on a post you’ve yet to share
– Create your post
– before actually posting the content, scroll to the bottom and select Advanced Settings
– you’ll see the “Hide Like and View Counts on This Post” option: turn it on by tapping the toggle switch
– then, tap the back arrow at the top left
– and lastly, select Share
Hide likes on a post you’ve already shared
– Find the post you want to hide the likes on
– tap the 3 menu dots to the right of your username
– lastly, select Hide Like Count
Hide likes on posts by other profiles
– While in your IG profile, tap the 3 horizontal lines icon at the top right
– now select Settings > Privacy > Posts
– lastly, tap Hide Like and View Counts
And that’s it!