Instagram hides ‘likes’ from more users

Instagram started hiding “likes” on its platform in Australia, Brazil and several other major markets yesterday, saying it wanted to ease pressure on users, following criticism about its impacts on mental health. The Facebook-owned social media giant’s trial changes mean users in the six countries will no longer be able to see the number of likes other people’s posts receive.

“We want Instagram to be a place where people feel comfortable expressing themselves,” Facebook Australia and New Zealand policy director Mia Garlick said in a statement. “We hope this test will remove the pressure of how many likes a post will receive, so you can focus on sharing the things you love.” Australia, Italy, Ireland, Japan, Brazil and New Zealand are involved in the new trial, which follows an initial test that was launched in Canada in May.

Although Instagram described the hiding of the likes for users as a “test”, no deadline was given for when it would end. Instagram, which has more than one billion users worldwide, is a platform that allows users to post images and videos that others can then like or comment on. But, in the chosen test countries, likes will not be visible on people’s profiles, the main image feed or permalink pages.

And while Instagram users will still be able to view the total number of likes on their own posts, they will need to click through to another page in order to do so. In another effort introduced in February to safeguard the mental health of young users, Instagram clamped down on images related to self harm. Instagram said the measures to conceal likes would not affect measurement tools used by businesses that use the platform to promote their products.