Instagram launches test where users can choose to hide likes

Instagram is launching a small global test on Wednesday where users can choose whether to hide like counts on their own posts or other people’s posts, a Facebook spokeswoman said. The photo-sharing site, which is owned by Facebook Inc, said this latest test came after seeing mixed responses to its experiments in which it removed likes, commonly used as a measure of popularity.”In 2019, we started hiding like counts for a small group of people to understand if it lessens some pressure when posting to Instagram,” the spokeswoman said in a statement. “Some people found this beneficial but some still wanted to see like counts so they could track what’s popular.” Facebook is also exploring a similar experience which will roll out in the coming weeks, she said, in response to users calling for more controls over how they interact with content on the platform. Facebook has previously tested hiding likes on others’ posts in Australia.