Instagram Hide Likes Feature Expanded to More Countries: What It Means For Brands And Individuals?

Do you feel envious when you see other posts on Instagram getting more likes than your post?

Well, there will be no more competition on the basis of likes anymore. Instagram hide likes feature was first announced by Facebook at F8 developer conference. Canada was the first country where users reported that Instagram likes are not showing up. 

Yesterday, Instagram officially announced that it has started testing the new feature of hiding like counts and it has been expanded to 6 more new countries other than Canada.

Instagram Hide Likes Feature

Instagram has not much revealed about the procedure of testing the new feature. According to some reports, latest Instagram update will not affect the existing Instagram algorithm. The ranking of a post in the feed will still depend on the total count of likes. 

Countries where Instagram Hide likes feature is starting today:

• Australia
• New Zealand
• Italy
• Ireland
• Japan
• Brazil

Interestingly, users in Canada reported yesterday that Instagram likes count on their posts has once again started displaying. However, Instagram confirmed that the testing of the new feature is still continuing in Canada. This afternoon, Instagram’s hide likes feature is back once again.

Instagram app’s head Adam Moserri stated that Instagram has redesigned its profile to make follower counts less valuable.

Why Instagram Likes Not Showing Up? 

Instagram stated,

“We want your friends to focus on the photos and videos you share, not how many likes they get. You can still see your own likes by tapping on the list of people who've liked it, but your friends will not be able to see how many likes your post has received.”

In simple terms,

With the Instagram new update, the company wants to dissolve the current environment where people are too much worried about the popularity of their posts. People see Instagram likes as a metric of success. There is a tendency of the people to make fun of those who get very fewer likes. 

Hiding Instagram likes will give the creator’s a real sense of what is working for their Instagram feed without caring about likes count on the post.

What Changes Does Hide Likes Will Bring For Brands And Individuals?

• Individuals users and brands would be able to view their own Instagram likes by clicking on their list of likes.
• Other users won’t be able to view how many likes your post has got.
• In the same way, you too can not see how many likes others’ post has got.
• Your Instagram page will look like the image below.
• For brands and individuals on Instagram, the new change will not affect their Instagram post Insights or Ad Manage. These tools can still use in the same way to understand the engagements on the posts.

Instagram Hiding Likes Count Feature Has Got Mixed Reactions From Users 

Here are some snapshots of Instagram's users opinions on its new feature.

Instagram Other Notable New Features

In addition to hiding like count features, Instagram head Adam Moserris hinted they are about to roll out other features like create a mode in camera and easy shopping and some features are under the testing period.

Instagram Shopping For Influencers Become Easy

The shopping feature has already been enabled on the Instagram app for a long time. The Intsagram new update will allow the influencers to have shopping tags on their posts. It will help in identifying the products that Instagram influencers are sporting. Just a tap on the product photo will give you the facility to buy it on the spot. It is expected to be available worldwide soon.

According to the reports, the Instagram shopping program has partnered with 23 brands and 55 influencers. In the coming time it is going to include athletes, artists and publishers as well. There will be no cuts in the sold products for the Influencers, however they can get the analytics reports to convey their influence on brand products.

Instagram’s Create Mode Feature In Camera 

The Instagram Camera feature will sport another mode besides the Camera and Live mode. The post created with this feature will not be a photograph, instead a static background will appear on the top to which you can paste stickers of polls, GIFs and many more. 

The Create mode will help in building a post from scratch without uploading the existing photo. The new mode is expected to go live globally very soon.

With all these new features, Facebook has shown to the world that Instagram will no longer be a photo sharing app only and maybe it will drive the users away due to the introduction of monetizing features. 

Stay tuned to MobileAppDaily for latest updates of Instagram and other mobile app industry news.