 "If you noticed your Instagram likes suddenly disappear, you are not alone – it's a bug")
Did you see your Instagram likes suddenly disappear this week? If you did, you are not alone. And no, it’s not an expansion of the test that Instagram started back in 2019, it was caused by a bug. Earlier today, Instagram acknowledged the issue and said that it has been testing the experience to hide likes on Feed posts and accidentally added more people to the test today, which was a bug. Instagram confirmed that it is working on the issue and will restore likes for people who were not part of the test so far.
We've been testing a new experience to hide likes on Feed posts. We unintentionally added more people to the test today, which was a bug — we’re fixing this issue and restoring like counts to those people as soon as possible.
— Instagram Comms (@InstagramComms) March 3, 2021
Due to the bug, the likes counter on posts was replaced by a mere text that said the post was liked by a named account “and others.”
Just noticed Instagram doesn’t have the number of “likes” under posts now. I knew it was coming but just noticed the change. pic.twitter.com/yKtUrVHIPI
— David Begnaud (@DavidBegnaud) March 3, 2021
Within a few hours, Instagram confirmed that the issue has been fixed.
This issue has now been fixed. Pull down to refresh your feed and your likes should restore - thanks for your patience!
— Instagram Comms (@InstagramComms) March 3, 2021
The bug, which many thought was the expansion of the text, did restart the online conversation on the effectiveness of the move. While some positively supported the test, many believe removal of likes counter would make no difference.
Personally I feel like Instagram choosing to hide people’s likes is a good idea. I also think the user should be able to have the option whether they want their likes to show or not. That way people can start valuing content for what it is instead of how many likes a photo gets.
— Amra Olević Reyes (@amrezy) March 3, 2021
In November 2019, Instagram started testing hiding the like counter for users in India. The platform believes that hiding the like counter on posts may help with users’ mental health. To be clear, removing like counter does not mean that users will not have any information on how many likes they get. They will still be able to go into the post details and view the likes on their posts. The change will just hide the likes we currently see on other people’s post.
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