Instagram thinks about the 'like' count. After a test started in 2019 in which it gave users the possibility not to immediately make the number of 'likes' on posts visible, the platform officially announces today that from now on anyone will have the possibility to choose whether to hide or keep visible the number of 'likes', both on Instagram and on Facebook, according to your preferences. "In this testing period we found that user behavior didn't change, but we had strong reactions, some positive, some negative. It was a polarizing decision, so we decided to give everyone a choice," he said. Adam Mosseri, head of Instagram at a conference call in which ANSA participated.
You can therefore choose whether to hide the number of 'likes' on all posts of your news stream on Instagram and also whether to hide the number of 'likes' on your posts.
This will be possible by accessing the new section called 'Post', present in the Settings, and which can be activated and deactivated even after publication.
In the coming weeks, these options will also be active on Facebook.
"We worked with independent experts to figure out how to give people more control and awareness and thus help create a more positive experience on Instagram," added Mosseri.
"Instagram's move is aimed at giving flexibility and control to users, especially those who do not want to be judged by the number of likes or views generated, but by the quality of their content. It should also be read as a response to the accusations of the 'negative impact that social media would have on the mental health of its users, overwhelmed by the anxiety of accumulating likes and followers ", observes Vincenzo Cosenza, a social media expert.
Mosseri, then returned to the Instagram project for the under 13 that sparked controversy. "For now we do not have a plan - he specified -. But I think, as a father, that if a child under that age wants to stay on a social platform it is better to have the control and supervision of a parent. It is right. there are criticisms, but it is our responsibility to think of a safe and transparent product ".
