How you can hide 'likes' on Instagram and Facebook

Instagram head Adam Mosseri mentioned that these changes were rolled out so users feel good about their experiences on the app

For years now, social media giants Instagram and Facebook have come under criticism for creating a toxic environment. The social media spaces create a lot of pressure for users to perform better or compete with people around the world based on various metrics such as 'views', and 'likes.' In an attempt to fix these issues, Facebook and Instagram rolled out a new feature in which it lets users hide the 'likes' on posts.

In a blog, titled "Giving People More Control on Instagram and Facebook," the tech giant made the announcement. Let's take a look at how this exactly works.

Can I hide likes for others' posts?

Yes. With this feature, not only can users choose to make likes on their posts private, but can choose to not see the likes on others posts that show up on their feed.

Also Read | Facebook, Instagram will let users hide likes on posts

How do I hide likes?

On Instagram, this can be accessed through settings. Under the settings section on Instagram, a new tab for 'posts' has been added in which it says "Hide Likes and Views," and you have to hit the toggle next to it. This will hide likes and views for all posts that show up on your feed.

To hide likes on your posts, there is no default button to hide likes on all posts together, so for each post the user can decide and change the setting.

Can I still see the likes on my posts?

It is important to note that with this new roll-out feature, Instagram still allows users to see how many likes their posts have gotten, even if that isn't visible to everyone. Other metrics such as story views, followers count, and comments on posts still remain visible.

Instagram head Adam Mosseri in a tweet on Wednesday mentioned that these changes were rolled out so users feel good about their experiences on this app.