Instagram is considering hiding the like counter on photos, so audiences can’t see how many people have liked an individual post.
"We want your followers to focus on what you share, not how many likes your posts get. During this test, only the person who shares a post will see the total number of likes it gets,” the TechCrunch website quoted the popular social media platform as stating.
The website reported that hiding Like counts could reduce herd mentality, where people just "Like" what’s already got tons of Likes. It could reduce the sense of competition on Instagram, since users won’t compare their own counts with those of more popular friends. And it could encourage creators to post what feels most authentic rather than trying to rack up Likes for everyone to see, the German News Agency reported.
According to TechCrunch, the design change test was spotted by Jane Manchun Wong, a prolific reverse-engineering expert. Wong discovered the design change test in Instagram’s Android code and was able to generate screenshots of the new design. Users of the new prototype of Instagram will receive a notification text that allows them to choose to hide the Like counter from other users or not to hide it.
