Instagram rolls out hiding like counts for Indian users

Instagram logo. Pic/AFP

Facebook-owned photo sharing platform Instagram on Wednesday announced that it is now enabling the option to hide public like counts for the Indian users on the platform.

The company said that it tested the hiding like counts option to see if it might depressurise people's experience on the photo-sharing platform.

"What we heard from people and experts was that not seeing like counts was beneficial for some, and annoying to others, particularly because people use like counts to get a sense for what's trending or popular, so we're giving you the choice," Instagram said in a statement.

Users can hide like counts on others' posts by visiting the new Posts section in Settings. This control applies to all the posts in your feed. They can also choose to hide like counts before sharing a post. Users can turn this setting on or off, even after it goes live.

"People want more flexibility, so we thought it would be important to give people the option. In the next few weeks you will see both of these controls come to Facebook," the company said. The company said it is looking for more ways to give people control over their experience.

"And that's why we announced new tools to allow people to filter offensive content from their DMs and gave people ways to control what they see and share on Facebook's News Feed -- like the Feed Filter Bar, Favorites Feed and Choose Who Can Comment," the company said.

"We're also funding more external research about people's experiences on Instagram, and how we can improve our policies and products to support our community," it added.

In India, Instagram also recently collaborated with the Young Leaders for Active Citizenship (YLAC) to initiate the fifth edition of the ‘Counter Speech Fellowship'.

It is a programme that engages creative teens to use the power of visual storytelling to start meaningful conversations on issues that are important to young citizens around the world.

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