Instagram just took its divisive ‘hidden likes’ experiment global

[Adam]

Instagram just took its divisive 'hidden likes' experiment global

Instagram today announced it’s expanding its test of hidden likes to users around the world. This means that a significantly higher number of people will be logging into Instagram today and seeing their friends’ posts sans numbers. The test was run in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Ireland, Italy...

thenextweb.com

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1195009164470181888

 

[Gummibeer]

I like this change! It removes the like-battles and reduces the effect of likes as a measurement.

 

[sharegrams]

This is just an attempt to make influencers have less influence. Instagram isn't interested in a bunch of accounts having power like that. They want businesses to buy ads.

Instagram gives absolutely no *@#!'s about "user health".

 

[VickiLanger]

This is just an attempt to make influencers have less influence. Instagram isn't interested in a bunch of accounts having power like that. They want businesses to buy ads.

Instagram gives absolutely no *@#!'s about "user health".

I totally agree. They’re acting in their own interest. Though, I can see a few other benefits.

In a world where we don’t see how many other people like things, we are able to avoid our instinct to like things that tons of others like.

 

[ek1]

This is just an attempt to make influencers have less influence.

I'm not so sure. Anyone wanting to sponsor an influencer will be able to tell from the comments on their posts whether or not it's a good ROI. I can't imagine anyone does it by likes alone. Besides, instagram benefits from instagram influencers. If the influencers jump ship to TikTok or VSCO or something, instagram gets NOTHING - not even the ad revenue.

Also: "While likes won’t be publicly visible as a user scrolls through content, brands and agencies who use a platform with API approval will still be able to see, filter, and analyse an influencer’s engagement rate."

Here in Canada likes have been hidden for quite a while. The change I've noticed in myself is that I'm more likely to use the platform - I post things more often because I don't have to worry about how many likes I get. I absolutely think Instagram's motivation here is monetary - especially since Facebook still allows likes - but I wonder if maybe they're realizing that what's good for your users is good for your platform.

 

[kilian]

Strangely enough they were hidden for me for a while, but I see the like counts for each photo now. It's better without them.