Instagram begins testing hiding public like counts

Instagram is going to begin testing what it’s like to hide like counts on its platform this week.

The testing is only in Canada for now, and it will hide public like counts on videos and photos in users’ feeds.

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Instagram says the reasoning for the testing is to “focus on the photos and videos you share, not how many likes they get.”

The user will still be able to see their own total likes or views for a post, but their followers will not.

The head of Instagram Adam Mosseri told Buzzfeed that the test was about “creating a less pressurized environment where people feel comfortable expressing themselves” and focus less on like counts.

“We do hear people worry about how many like counts they get,” Mosseri said.

Instagram’s parent company, Facebook, has recently been fighting fake Instagram likes. It’s suing a New Zealand-based company who sold fake likes, shares and followers on Instagram. This shows that sometimes, public like counts can be inaccurate due to the issues with bots and fake accounts.

While the company is trying to gain trust from people through moves like this, they’ve faced numerous internal issues. Millions of Instagram passwords were exposed to employees and they’ve also experienced numerous site crashes this year.

At the beginning of the year, Facebook even reported more than half of its users could be fake.

Also, a new study shows that soon, Facebook might actually have more dead users than those who are alive, which is pretty creepy.

What do you think of the possibility of Instagram getting rid of like counts on public feeds? Sound off in the comments below!

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