How to hide likes on Instagram? Are likes just a vanity metric you shouldn’t pay attention to or maybe one of the factors brands and agencies use before they decide to collaborate with any creator? Should you hide Instagram likes or allow them to scream at anyone who visits your profile? Stick around to find out how to quickly hide likes for yourself or for others and check out our list of pros and cons of hiding likes that should answer all of these questions.
If You Hide Likes on Instagram, Can Others See It?
The first thing to say here, is that there are two options when it comes to hiding likes and views count.
You can hide them on Instagram posts, and that works for regular feed posts – you can only scroll through the accounts that liked the video but numbers are invisible.
However, you’ll still be able to see likes and views for Reels.
What can I say… We’re a bit inconsistent, Instagram, aren’t we?
Can You Hide Like Count On Reels?
With Reels, the preview for the likes count looks the same as for feed posts, but when you actually click on it, you’ll still see how many times the video has been played and how many likes it has.
So whoever can explain why Reels are an exception from this rule, you’re welcome to share this info with us in the comments below. We can’t come up with anything better than just, Reels are a popular format on Instagram atm, and they want to create some kind of FOMO in people by tempting them with numbers, or…The numbers are supposed to be an indicator of what’s trending on the platform… But these arguments still don’t seem like a good enough reason for me. Personally, I just think that if some people don’t need or want to see likes, just give them that option on everything. That’s all.
On the other hand, you can hide likes on your own posts from other people, and of course you can also use both solutions at the same time. In this case, people won’t see likes or views count for your regular feed posts (so any images including carousels, videos up to 60s, of course with the exception of Reels).
Should I Hide Likes?
Initially, the reason why Instagram decided to roll out this feature is as they said themselves, to give people more control over their experience on the platform. They wanted to depressurize Instagram, make it less of a competition, give people more space to focus on connecting with people that they love and things that inspire them, which was a very noble thing to do. However, after a while of testing the feature they’ve decided to make it optional since it ended up being polarizing for the community, as said by the Big Instagram Boss Adam Mosseri.
This doesn’t change the fact that you might still want to hide likes for your posts and find it beneficial, so let me show you how to do it right now!
How to Hide Instagram Likes – Guide
1. Let’s go with the option numero uno: turn off likes on others Instagram posts, so you won’t see them yourself.
First, go onto your Instagram profile. From there, select the hamburger menu in the top right corner of the screen.
Go to ‚‘Settings’. click on privacy and then the posts icon. Right at the top of the screen you’ll see the ‘Hide like and view counts‘ option. Switch it on and you’re done. Now you can’t see likes or views on other people’s posts.
2. If you’d like to hide likes and views on your own posts from the people who visit your profile you have two ways to do it:
You can do it at the stage of creating a post:
Upload a photo or video, add a caption and hashtags, all the usual stuff. Once you’re done with your post tap Advanced Settings at the bottom of the screen
and toggle on Hide Like and View Counts.
And that’s it, return to your post and publish it. Everything that people can see in your post from now on, are profiles that liked it without any numbers attached.
3. If you’d like to hide likes on the existing posts. The process is really straightforward as well.
Go to the post you want to hide likes for. Click on the three dots menu in the top right corner and hit „Hide like Count”. Also, if you don’t fancy people commenting on your post. You can switch that option off here as well.
The only thing you need to remember about, is that you will have to repeat this process for every post you publish as there is no way to make this the default option.
Another step checked off the list, so now’s a good time to decide if it’s a good idea for you to hide the number of likes and views in your posts.
Is It Better to Hide Your Likes on Instagram?
Here’s when we think you could consider ditching likes count from your posts:
1. First, let’s follow up on the origin of the idea for hiding likes.
The feature was supposed to empower people, and shape a more positive experience on Instagram, so If you feel anxious about these numbers. You’re nervously checking your phone for notifications after you post anything, or even worse start judging your own worth based on how you measure up against other people who appear to be doing better or worse than you do on Instagram – in these scenarios hiding likes look like a good first step to building a healthier relationship with the platform.
We’re not psychologists or therapists, so this is of course not professional advice but we do believe that small steps always lead to bigger ones and we hope this can be one of them for you.
2. If the only thing holding you back from hiding likes is a concern that this will affect your stats, you should also not be worried. The algorithm won’t get upset with you about it. You’ll still be able to access your posts’ insights. Which is even better if you think about it, because you’ll be looking at the overall performance of your post. Not focusing only on how many likes it got.
3. Another reason why you could try hiding your like count is when it becomes a vanity metric. What we mean by that is when the number of followers, likes or shares on your posts become more important than your objectives as a creator or a business owner. Your Instagram objectives should go hand in hand with your business goals. Whether it is building a mailing list, raising your brand awareness or finding brands to collaborate with, your likes count isn’t the only metric you should be relying on to achieve these goals.
Cons of Hiding Likes on Instagram
1. Instagram has been testing the feature since 2019, which translates to a lot of feedback from Instagram users. The big Instagram Boss, Adam Mosseri, brought to light that ‘For those who liked it, the feature worked just the way they wanted it to work. It depressurised the experience. But for those who didn’t, they used likes to get a sense of what was trending, what was relevant on Instagram, and they weren’t so happy about not seeing likes in other creators‘ feeds. So before you hide likes on your business or creator account, the thing to remember is that very often people’s first instinct is that large numbers of likes mean quality content and eventually can attract more people to follow your profile.
2. Thankfully, these days brands looking for collaborators pay attention to other performance indicators than just likes. They use professional tools like socialauditor to audit influencers and determine if they’re the right fit to promote their service or a product. But if they don’t use advanced tools like this one, they will most likely still pay attention to your likes count, the number of followers, your engagement in the comments and generally how your posts resonate with your audience. In which case, keeping your likes count visible can be a good idea.
Do Likes Matter on Social Media?
We feel that the more people decide to hide likes on their posts the healthier Instagram ecosystem can become by reducing the negative effects of the social comparison on the platform, and creating a safe space for our more authentic selves. Which would be a fantastic thing.
I hope that this article helped you to make a decision about hiding likes in your posts, and if you decided to go for it, we made it easier to get it done with our short tutorial
If you enjoyed reading this post, let me know in the comments below what’s your opinion about hiding likes on Instagram? Have you already done it or maybe you’re completely against it. I’m very curious to see what you guys think about it!
