Small revolution on Instragram and Facebook: Zuckerberg's socials allow everyone to choose whether to show the number of likes
Like all novelties that impact established concepts, the disappearance of the number of likes received from posts on Instagram has divided the social users in two. On the one hand, those who have appreciated the novelty, on the other hand, those who would have preferred to continue with the system as always.
Contenting everyone would have been possible if only Instagram had left the freedom to everyone to decide whether or not to hide the likes. So it was not, and everyone, like it or not, had to take note of the decision of Instagram. Now, however, with an official announcement Instagram, which is part of the same holding company that controls Facebook, announced that it has finally introduced the ability to choose whether or not to hide the likes on both Facebook and Instagram. Better late than never, in short, even if in the statement the group of Zuckerberg specifies once again that the choice made at the time was motivated by the desire to understand "whether the concealment of the numbers could depress the experience of Instagram users".
Social's stance on the number of likes
The "test" didn't provide a universal answer: "People and experts told us that eliminating the number of likes proved positive for some but disadvantageous for others, especially since people use the number of likes to get an idea of the popularity of a piece of content, whether it's trending or not. So here's the ability to choose what's best."
The announcement posted on Instagram's help section, which also speaks for Facebook by being part of the same group, reiterates how Zuckerberg's network is constantly looking for solutions that can increase users' control over their social experience. So here is the possibility of deciding whether or not to display the number of likes on both Instagram and Facebook.
Controlling the display of likes
Starting immediately, both Instagram and Facebook deliver into the hands of users and content creators the ability to decide whether or not to show the likes received by a content. The interesting aspect is that the possibility of choice is delivered both to the owners of a profile, and to those who instead use the content.
In fact, it is given both the possibility to hide the number of likes received by their posts, so that other users can not see how many are collected, and to hide the display of the counters of all posts that appear in the feed, then regardless of the setting of the owners of the profiles that you follow or with whom you are friends.
"This way, if you wish, you can focus on the photos and videos you share instead of the number of likes they get," Instagram explains. The possibility is operational immediately on Instagram, on Facebook it seems to be taking a while to arrive.
To manage it just open the Instagram app, go to the settings of your profile, tap on the Privacy item, then Post and finally act on the selector of the item "Likes" and views. Instead, to decide about your own content, just tap the three horizontal dots at the top right of a posted content and finally select the Hide the number of likes option.