Instagram New Hide Like Button

The number of likes a photo on Facebook and Instagram can be seen by everyone — and that matters, especially to businesses and professionals tracking them for data and to make money off their reach.

Instagram is testing hiding "like" counts. Only the publisher of the image may see how many double taps were given to a post.

Even though Like totals would still impact how the algorithm ranks a post in the feed, if rolled out, the change would refocus Instagram on self-expression instead of being a popularity contest. Users might be less likely to delete a photo or video because it didn’t get enough Likes, or resort to their Finsta account to post something authentic but less “perfect.”