Instagram confirms a bug that briefly hid likes to some users and was not visible to other people unless the post was there own.
A Bug on Instagram
CNN reports that many Instagram users have noticed an unfamiliar message at the top of the social media app that says, "Testing a Chance to How You See Likes - We want your followers to focus on what you share, not how many likes your post gets. During this test, only you will be able to see the total number of likes on your post."
This test, however, produces a bug and way too many Instagram users did not see likes across the board than they originally intended.
We've been testing a new experience to hide likes on Feed posts. We unintentionally added more people to the test today, which was a bug — we’re fixing this issue and restoring like counts to those people as soon as possible.
— Instagram Comms (@InstagramComms) March 3, 2021
In a statement, Instagram confirmed it was a bug and should be reverted to normal soon.
A spokesperson for Facebook, which owns Instagram, says that the company has been testing a new experience to hide likes on posts and unintentionally added more people to the test day, which was a bug.
The official also added that the company is now fixing the issue and resorting like counts to those people as soon as possible. Several people have reported seeing the change on their profiles on Tuesday, with the number of likes replaced with the phrase "and others." While followers would not see the total number of likes a post received, the owner of the post could still see it.
I’m about to cry. Why did Instagram take away my ability to see the number of likes any post has gotten?!?! Time to delete the app.
— NerissaArianna🤍 (@nerissarianna) March 3, 2021
Also Read: Instagram Launches Live Rooms Feature Allowing Four People to Group-Stream
Comicbook reports that users may recall that Instagram first announced this "Hidden Likes" tests in 2019, noting that they believed it would be better in the long run for engagement on the platform.
In a company post two years ago, the company stated that they are continuing the test to learn more from their global community. They have positive feedback from other countries such as Australia, Brazil, Canada, Ireland, Italy, Japan, and New Zealand.
Hiding Likes to Focus on Users' Mental Health
The Instagram post continued that the company understands that like counts are important to most creators. They are actively thinking through ways for creators to communicate value to their partners.
Distractify reports that Instagram did this to mitigate the impact likes were having on users' mental health with the idea that users would feel less toxic pressure over how many likes their post garnered.
Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri stated that Instagram users' well-being was far more critical to the social media application. Of course, brands and influencers were not happy about this change. Any account that monetized off of engagement was not thrilled.
It seems that more users will experience the social media app's "Hiding Likes" test at the moment, but Instagram has not officially announced a wider rollout.
The social media platform is hiding likes from followers as a way to follow through with the original intent: By removing the visibility of likes, Instagram users will feel less pressure to feel like they have to measure their "worth" or popularity" by how many likes they have on a post.
But will that help? A psychologist named Jacqueline Sperling said that hiding likes on the app is a positive move.
However, people will still compare themselves to others on the internet, saying that people can always compare and give comments to other users in the app. "There continues to be opportunities for comparison and feedback," says Sperling.
Related Article: Facebook to Launch Safety Features to Help Combat Rampant Child Abuse in the Platform
This article is owned by Tech Times
Written by: Luis Smith
