Instagram test of hiding 'likes' spreading to US
Updated | By AFP
Instagram chief Adam Mosseri said that a test of hiding
"likes" at the image and photo sharing social network will spread to
the US.
"Heads up! We've been testing making likes private on Instagram in a number of countries this year," Mosseri said in a tweet on Friday.
"We're expanding those tests to include a small portion of people in the US next week."
READ: Sydney region faces 'catastrophic' bushfire threat
Facebook in September confirmed it is dabbling with no longer making a public display of how many "likes" are racked up by posts.
Such a change could ease pressure to win approval with images, videos or comments and, instead, get people to simply focus on what is in the posts.
Facebook-owned Instagram earlier this year announced it was testing hiding like counts and video view tallies in more than a half-dozen countries, with account holders still able to see the numbers but masking amounts from others.
Twitter has also experimented with hiding numbers of times tweets were "liked" or "retweeted," according to product lead Kayvon Beykpour.
Twitter found that people engaged less with tweets when they couldn't see the counts.
"When you remove engagement indicators, people engage less," Beykpour said while briefing journalists at Twitter headquarters in San Francisco earlier this year.
Show's Stories
-
SA cinemas jack up prices but can they win you back in other ways?
Cinema ticket prices are soaring but can blockbusters and live events lu...
Stacey & J Sbu 14 hours ago -
Cheapest days and times to fly to major cities in South Africa
Thinking of a trip to Johannesburg, Cape Town or back to Durban? This gu...
Stacey & J Sbu 15 hours ago