This archive report was first published on 12 November 2019.
Instagram's experiment to hide likes on posts has been met with a fierce reaction from influencers and celebrities in the US, echoing the concerns raised by their counterparts in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, Italy, Brazil, and Japan.
As announced by Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri on Friday, the feature has been rolled out in the US, sparking a heated debate about the impact on the platform's dynamics.
During an interview with CBS, Mosseri expressed his concerns that hiding likes might hurt the platform, stating, '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.'
However, American celebrities are calling out the app for experimenting with removing likes, with some threatening to stop posting to Instagram entirely. Others have taken to Twitter to joke about the proposed changes, while some, including Kim Kardashian, have hailed Instagram's decision as a boon to users' mental health.
As the debate rages on, it remains to be seen how the hidden likes feature will shape the future of Instagram and its user base.
