Instagram lets users hide likes to reduce pressure

Instagram is offering its users the option to hide the number of likes they receive on posts on the app. The aim is to "depressurize people's experience" on the platform, the social media giant said. Users with the feature enabled will now see the username of a follower who has liked the post, "and others", instead of a number. The tool has been tested in several countries since 2019, but it is now being rolled out globally. "This has taken longer than I had hoped, but I am pretty excited about… giving people more control over the experience," Instagram's boss Adam Mosseri told the BBC.

Mental health In its testing and research, Instagram said that removing likes had little impact on behaviour or wellbeing - after concerns that using the platform could be linked to insecurity and poor mental health. A recent Oxford Internet Institute study also found there was "little association" between social media use and mental health in teenagers.

Despite this, Mr Mosseri said Instagram - which is owned by Facebook - introduced the feature to make "people feel good about the time they spend" on the platform. "I do think there's more to do in this space," he added. "The more we can give people the ability to shape Instagram and Facebook into what's good for them, the better."

---BBC