As of November, Instagram likes are no longer being displayed on other peoples’ posts. Simply stated: Instagram users are now unable to view the exact number of likes on another users post unless they are willing to count each like individually. However, users are still able to see the people who liked the posts. As of now, only the account user can view the specific amount of likes on their own posts. While there were formerly rumors about Instagram removing the viewing like feature, the head of Instagram officially announced this change at a conference in San Fransisco at the start of November.

The change came as a result of Instagram wanting to create a “less pressurized environment” on social media. Instagram users have been known to remove posts that did not receive “enough” likes. Pressure on social media played a large role in Instagrams decision to change up the like feature. Instagram originally experimented with this new feature in seven other countries including: Australia, Brazil, Canada, Ireland, Italy, Japan, and New Zealand before bringing it to the United States in November.

Adam Mosseri, the current head of Instagram, has stated that he was willing to make this change even if it hurt the business because “mental health and well-being are bigger priorities to him.” While this change is not life altering, it is still relatively noticeable in the social media world.

There have been many speculations for why Instagram decided to change this feature. For those who rarely use social media or the Instagram platform, this change is not of great impact. “I mean, either way you still see the post,” Alyssa Miner ’22 said. “I think Instagram did this to make people feel better about themselves. I think they should leave this new change because the amount of likes doesn’t really matter when you can still see the posts.”

For more frequent Instagram users, this causes a big change to their feelings towards Instagram. Changing this feature has had greater impacts on those with a larger following on the platform. “I don’t mind it too much actually,” Mya Peters ’22 said. “I actually kind of like it because I can post a picture and not have to worry about how many likes I get because nobody else can see it. It’s not really changing the activity of Instagram or anything. Personally I think I would like it if it was changed back to the way it was before just because I like looking at the stats of Instagram. It really doesn’t impact me that much but I would personally like it to be changed back.”