Instagram Will Test Feature Hiding ‘Likes’ on Photos to Protect Feelings

Facebook-owned social media platform Instagram is reportedly planning to test the removal of the “like” count on photos, so users focus on content instead of “popularity.”

The Washington Post reports that the CEO of Instagram, Adam Mosseri, recently stated that the site would soon test hiding the “like” counts from photos and view count from videos in an attempt to get users to pay closer attention to the content itself rather than just its popularity. This is reportedly an effort to make the platform less competitive and the experience of the app “less pressurized.”

Mosseri stated at Facebook’s F8 developer conference this week that the change is designed to make it less stressful to post online without worrying about like or view counts. “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,” Mosseri stated.

The test run for the update is set to roll out in Canada this week, users will still be able to view the number of likes on their own posts by clicking through a prompt but will not see the like counts of other peoples posts in their timeline. Instagram is also reportedly testing a new user profile page with less of an emphasis on follower count,  “We don’t want Instagram to feel like a competition, we want to make it a less pressurized environment,” Mosseri said about the changes.

At Facebook’s F8 developer conference, company CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced plans to combine WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and Instagram into one single end-to-end encrypted product but noted that this feature is likely years away from completion. Zuckerberg also revealed plans for Facebook’s wireless VR headsets which are set to ship soon and announced plans to launch the company’s Portal smart-screen device internationally.

Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship. Follow him on Twitter @LucasNolan or email him at lnolan@breitbart.com