How to hide your likes on Instagram

In our “Instagram Guides,” we'll look at Instagram, explain its new and old features, and show you how to get the most out of the platform for your marketing strategy. Today: How to use the new “hidden likes” feature on Instagram.

For a long time, likes have been the currency on Instagram. But the persistent pressure that trying to get likes has put on users has led to a change of thought.

In 2019, Instagram started to test the hidden likes feature. Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri said then that users shouldn't focus too much on competing with each other.

Since being tested in several countries, the tool is now being rolled out globally. Now, you can turn off all like counts in your feed and for your posts.

How do you hide your likes on Instagram?

If you decide to hide the likes on your Instagram account, don’t worry: you can switch the feature on and off at any time without losing your likes.

How to hide your likes in general:

1. Go to settings via your profile.
2. Tap "Privacy."
3. Tap "Posts."
4. Activate "Hide like and view counts."

How to hide your likes just for one post:

If you don't want to hide the likes on all your postings, you also have the option of just hiding counts for a specific post.

1. Select a photo or video for your post and then tap "Next" or the right arrow.
2. Add a filter or edit your content as usual. Then tap "Next" or the right arrow.
3. In the caption section, scroll down to the bottom and tap "Advanced settings."
4. Activate "Hide like and view counts on this post."

You can also hide the likes on a post that has already been made:

1. Tap the three dots in the upper right corner.
2. Select "Hide Like Count."

What do you see when you hide your likes?

When you use the “hidden likes” feature, your posts will show “Liked by [one account] and others” where you usually would see the total number of likes.

When you tap on “and others” you will be able to see the total number of likes your content has. The overview reads “Only [your account] can see the total number of likes on this post.” This is followed by the list of accounts that liked the post. But if your followers tap on “and others” they won’t see the total number of likes.

Users that have like counts disabled will not see the number of likes on any accounts or posts.

Mental health on social media

The pressure that comes along with social media is a major problem for the platforms. Young people especially are affected by it.

Instagram itself wrote in a blog post about the rollout of hidden likes: “We tested hiding like counts to see if it might depressurize people’s experience on Instagram.”

The company also explains another reason for the new feature. It would allow users to “focus on the photos and videos being shared, instead of how many likes posts get.”

The tests showed that “not seeing like counts was beneficial for some, and annoying to others.” And that’s why you can now choose whether you’d like to see the counts or not.

Conclusion: The “hidden likes” feature allows users to focus more on your content

Hide the likes on your Instagram posts to reduce pressure for your customers and to be up to date with your marketing strategy. Storrito helps with the creation of Instagram Stories. The platform can be used within a team to create and schedule stories.