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Chief of Instagram Adam Mosseri.
- Instagram is testing hiding users' likes on the newsfeed.
- Head of Instagram Adam Mosseri told BuzzFeed the goal was to create a "less pressurized environment."
- Mosseri said the inspiration for the trial came from Instagram's popular Stories feature.
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Instagram is testing hiding users' likes on the newsfeed in an effort to make the platform less of a drain on people's self-worth.
Instagram announced the change at Facebook's annual developer's conference F8 on Tuesday - although it was first spotted by code-digging engineer Jane Manchun Wong earlier in April.
The test format will stop users from seeing like counts on photos and view counts on videos posted by others. Users will be able to see their own metrics by clicking through on specific posts.
Head of Instagram Adam Mosseri told BuzzFeed that the aim of the trial, which will roll out first in Canada, is about "creating a less pressurized environment where people feel comfortable expressing themselves."
Specifically, the trial seems geared towards people measuring their self-worth against their Instagram engagement. "We do hear people worry about how many like counts they get," Mosseri said.
He added that the inspiration for the test came from Instagram's Stories feature, where users can see their engagement metrics but they are not displayed to other users.
An Instagram spokeswoman told Business Insider: "Starting this week, we're running a test in Canada that removes the total number of likes on photos and video views in Feed, Permalink pages, and Profile. We are testing this because we want your followers to focus on the photos and videos you share, not how many likes they get."
Instagram is testing hiding like count from audiences,
as stated in the app: "We want your followers to focus on what you share, not how many likes your posts get" pic.twitter.com/MN7woHowVN
- Jane Manchun Wong (@wongmjane) April 18, 2019