Instagram is testing a new feature in the US this week by hiding the number of “likes” on posts and it is being met with strong backlash, especially from many influencers and celebrities.
Instagram has been testing the hidden likes feature for months in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, Italy, Brazil and Japan.
HIDING LIKES
When it was rolled out there, influencers complained that hiding likes would give them less leverage over brand deals and sponsored content.
The new feature was announced by Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri on Friday.
During an interview with CBS, Mosseri said he was a little worried that by hiding the likes it might hurt his platform.
“We don’t want Instagram to be such a competition. We want it to be a place where people spend more of their energy connecting with the people that they love and the things that they care about,” he said.
REACTIONS
American celebrities are calling out the app for experimenting with removing likes, with some threatening to stop posting to Instagram entirely.
Others took to Twitter to joke about the proposed changes.
But some, including Kim Kardashian, have heralded Instagram’s decision as a boon to users’ mental health.
Here’s what influencers and celebrities are saying about the new feature that hides likes on Instagram.
I’m not posting on IG after this week cuz they removing the likes. Hmmmm what should I get into now? Think of all the time I’ll have with my new life
— Mrs. Petty (@NICKIMINAJ) November 9, 2019
Instagram is getting rid of the “likes”? time to go back to real life ??? niggaz finna spazz
— juicy j (@therealjuicyj) November 9, 2019
Damn they really gonna kill Instagram how they did MySpace …. what a time y’all see y’all on the new app ??
— TACOBELLA (@Rico_nastyy) November 10, 2019
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