Social media platform X is now concealing users’ likes.
In an update posted earlier this week on the platform formerly known as Twitter, X’s engineering team announced that it would be “making Likes private for everyone to better protect your privacy.” Users will still be able to see their own likes, but others will not—ending a long-standing feature.
The change took effect on Wednesday. By the afternoon, the “Likes” tab was only visible on users’ own profile pages. When viewing other accounts, this tab was no longer available.
Users also received a pop-up notification suggesting that the change would lead to more user engagement.
“Liking more posts will make your ‘For you’ feed better,” the message stated.
According to the engineering team’s update, like counts and other metrics for a user’s own posts will still appear under notifications. Posts will continue to show the total number of likes, but only the author will see the list of users who liked it.
Previously, the option to hide likes was available only to paying Premium subscribers. When X introduced this option in September, it stated users could “keep spicy likes private by hiding your likes tab.”
This hidden like count is one of many changes implemented since billionaire Elon Musk purchased the platform for $44 billion in 2022. In addition to a new name and logo, other changes include eliminating the blue checks for non-Premium users and later restoring them for some.
These in-app changes have received mixed reactions. In the early days of removing verification badges from prominent officials and news organizations, many expressed concerns about misinformation. The platform has also faced increasing user and advertiser pushback due to ongoing concerns about content moderation and hate speech, which some researchers say has risen under Musk’s leadership.
