In an announcement shared on the former Twitter platform this past week, X’s engineering unit declared its intention to “conceal Likes for all users in order to enhance privacy protection.” This implies that while individuals can still view their own approvals, others will be unable to do so — thereby discontinuing a longstanding feature.
The alteration took effect on Wednesday. By afternoon, the “Likes” section seemed accessible solely on users’ personal profiles. However, when browsing other profiles, this feature was conspicuously absent.
Moreover, users were presented with a notification hinting at heightened user interaction as a consequence of the modification.
“Expressing approval for more posts will refine your ‘For you’ feed,” the notification conveyed.
Per the engineering unit’s announcement, counts of likes and similar metrics for a user’s personal posts will remain visible under notifications. Posts still exhibit their respective number of likes — albeit only accessible to the author.
Previously, the option to conceal likes was exclusively accessible to paying Premium subscribers. Upon introducing this option in September, X articulated that users could “maintain discrete approvals by concealing the likes section.”
The concealed like count is among various alterations introduced to the platform since billionaire Elon Musk’s acquisition for $44 billion in 2022. Apart from rebranding and a new emblem, other alterations encompassed the discontinuation of the once-coveted blue verification badges for non-Premium users — later reinstated for certain individuals.
Responses to the in-app modifications have been divergent. Following X’s removal of verification badges from notable figures and news entities, concerns about misinformation were widely voiced. Furthermore, the platform encountered growing opposition from users and advertisers amidst ongoing apprehensions regarding content moderation and hate speech on the San Francisco-based platform, which, according to some analysts, has surged under Musk’s ownership.