Why Hiding Likes Could Be the Next Catalyst to Instagram’s Growth
Instagram is testing a new design — here’s why the potential new interface could result in growth for the platform.
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An unreleased design change to Instagram’s interface is hiding the public like count on users’ posts to their feeds. Code hunter Jane Manchun Wong spotted the test hidden in Instagram’s code and posted screenshots on Twitter. One screenshot of the interface states “We want your followers to focus on what you share, not how many likes your posts get.” In this version of Instagram, only the author of the post would be able to see the amount of likes on their content.
In a statement to The Verge, Instagram commented they are testing this new design among users but they remain interested in “exploring ways to reduce pressure on Instagram.”
This social pressure has been a theme Instagram’s parent company Facebook has been exploring for some time. In fact, it was the driving force behind the development of Instagram Stories, undoubtedly the platform’s most successful development in recent times. Facebook identified its users were looking for a low-pressure alternative to share content, and more content in general. With story posts disappearing after 24 hours, the casual, “slice of life” nature of stories gave users an incentive to share authentic, in-the-moment content. This direction represented a sharp contrast to the polished curation most users encounter in their feed and on Instagram’s discovery page. After seeing the success of Snapchat’s stories feature, Instagram copied it exactly, and has since generated the company the added value of over 500 million daily active users.
The wildly successful adoption of stories has put less of a focus on the feed. Some users are treating stories as a substitute to engaging with feed-related content at all. With focus shifting toward casual sharing, and more frequent sharing, removing the public spectacle and pressure to share content with the greatest like-potential could be Instagram’s most promising avenue toward increasing daily active users and generating the next wave of new users.
When it comes to engagement metrics on Instagram, likes are an important determinant in shaping how the platform’s internal algorithm serves content. However, the public visibility of likes, while important to some, does not serve the majority of Instagram’s growing user base. While artists and influencers may use likes as one metric for communicating value to brands for prospective partnerships, but the utility in their public display overall is marginal.
Conversely, the new design hiding the public display of likes, if implemented, could aid in the growth of Instagram’s user base. Despite all of its recent scandals surrounding privacy, Facebook has continued to increase its user base into 2019, however, it’s growth has plateaued in most developed countries. Instagram, though less mature in the growth cycle, will inevitably have to find new ways to increase its signups in the coming years. Though Instagram has been the golden child of social media when it comes to growth and revenue, studies surrounding the platform’s link to low self-esteem and depression are beginning to make an impact. The high socially constructed stakes, when it comes to sharing content, are magnified on Instagram due to the platform’s specific focus on image in its feed, be it real or augmented. Stories is already alleviating this perfectionist focus, but a move to eliminate the number of likes from the public eye may encourage a similar mentality in Instagram’s feed.
For most social media sites, the value to investors, advertisers, and content providers is a common one: maintaining a strong daily and monthly active user count. The more time spent on the platform, the better. Given the ubiquity of social media, especially among younger generations, platforms will soon have to address the issues keeping potential users on the edge in order to keep growing. A bet on eliminating likes from the public eye may just be the change Instagram needs in order to signup new users, and convert their already flourishing monthly user base into engaged daily users.
