The moment that many Instagram users have been dreading is finally here, as the platform has started hiding like counts.
Instagram announced the change back in April, and trialled it in Canada the following month.
Now, it’s being rolled out to users in Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, Italy, Japan and Brazil.
The change means that the number of likes on posts aren’t shown below, and instead you’ll now see a user name ‘and others.’
However, users can still view the number of likes on their own posts.
Mia Garlick, Facebook Australia and New Zealand director of policy, said: “We hope this test will remove the pressure of how many likes a post will receive, so you can focus on sharing the things you love.”
Instagram hopes that hiding the like counts will minimise the stress of posting online, and eliminate the element of competition on its platform.
Speaking in May, Adam Mosseri, CEO of Instagram, said: “We want people to worry a little bit less about how many likes they're getting on Instagram and spend a bit more time connecting with the people that they care about.”
However, the public reaction to the change has been largely negative.
One user tweeted: “No one asked for this. No one wants this except insecure snowflakes. Thanks.”
Another wrote: “No one needs this and you're making it difficult for influencers that need those likes.”
And one pointed out: “This makes it way easier for people to buy fake followers, because nobody can see the like to follower ratio.”
It remains unclear when the update will be rolled out in the UK.
