Instagram Hid 'Likes' On Posts So Users Will Stop Obsessing. Now FB Is Doing The Same.
The total number of reactions will only be visible to the creator of the post, but nobody else.
By Alyssa J. Oon — 03 Sep 2019, 11:50 AM
After rolling out a feature to hide 'likes' on Instagram posts, Facebook is now working on doing the same with its platform
Famed app researcher and reverse engineering master Jane Manchun Wong uncovered the unreleased feature on Monday, 2 September.
"I observed that Facebook has recently begun prototyping this hidden like/reaction count feature in their Android app by reverse-engineering the app and playing with the code underneath," Wong wrote in a blog post.
Similar to the Instagram feature, nobody will be able to see the number of 'likes' on posts - except for their own
Other users will be able to see who has liked or reacted to a post, but the total number of reactions will not be shown.
"Interestingly, likes/reaction counts on comments are not yet hidden for now. But this could be due to the nature of this feature being in an early stage of development. As always, things will be polished eventually," Wong noted.
Facebook confirmed with TechCrunch that the removal of 'likes' is being tested, but is not available for the public yet.
In April, Facebook announced that it would begin hiding 'likes' on Instagram posts in a bid to make the platform feel less like a competition
"We are testing this because we want your followers to focus on the photos and videos you share, not how many likes they get," an Instagram spokesperson said, according to CNN.
TechCrunch reported that the test is currently live in seven countries, including Canada, Brazil, and New Zealand.
