Nowadays, social media feels less like an efficient way to interact with friends and family. It’s now more like a reputation contest fueled by influencers and celebs who aim to get as huge a reaction as possible on whatever they post.
Hide ‘Likes’ for Everyone but You
Instagram might be looking forward to changing that behavior. It’s now experimenting with a new feature that will hide likes to everyone but the person who posts the feeds.
However, the design prototype was initially spotted by Jane Manchun Wong. It has been revealed to show how the hidden like feature would appear. The prototype was discovered in Instagram’s Android code and seems to still be in the works.
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
Instagram also has mentioned the upcoming change in the following statement:
We want your followers to focus on what you share, not how many likes your posts get. During this test, only the person who shares a post will see the total number of likes it gets.
It’s a minor change, but doing something as simple as hiding likes could significantly change the way post is published on Instagram.
Other New Features
Wong also observed some new features like chat stickers and recommended videos in DMs, video call filters, Story soundtrack lyrics, emoji reactions on feeds, and a shopping bag icon for shopping (Instagram Checkout).
Instagram is testing different styles for Lyrics, possibly as stickers pic.twitter.com/jX9VkJ2QwP
— Jane Manchun Wong (@wongmjane) April 18, 2019
Instagram Direct is testing Stickers pic.twitter.com/VEpXMgEnZP
— Jane Manchun Wong (@wongmjane) April 18, 2019
Instagram is testing AR Effects and Co-Watching in Video Calls
(hands-on demo) pic.twitter.com/y1OV80zVtg
— Jane Manchun Wong (@wongmjane) April 17, 2019
Are you hyped for these new features? Let us know by leaving a comment below!
