Twitter, now known as X, has recently made some significant changes to its platform, following the update of its policies on adult content. Elon Musk, CEO of X, confirmed that the social media platform will start “hiding” likes in an effort to increase privacy, enhance the user experience, and provide a guilt-free way for users to interact with accounts and posts.
Although the official rollout of hiding likes didn’t start until June 11, 2024, rumors of this change began swirling on May 21, 2024. Haofei Wang, X’s director of engineering, confirmed the news on Twitter, stating that public likes were incentivizing the wrong behavior and that users could now like content without worrying about who might see it.
This change is not new to social media platforms, as X’s Premium subscribers already had the option to hide likes, and platforms like Instagram have done away with its Activity page. While users can still see who liked their posts and the number of likes they receive, they won’t see who liked someone else’s posts or liked tabs for other users.
Elon Musk took to Twitter on January 11, 2024, to confirm the rollout of private likes and emphasized the importance of allowing people to like posts without fear of retaliation. The following day, he announced that the change had gone into effect and shared a graph showing a significant increase in likes after they were made private.
User reactions to the update were mixed, with some expressing panic over the change and others joking about Elon Musk’s influence on Twitter. Even brands like Netflix joined in on the conversation, sharing their thoughts on the update on their X account.
