From LifeHacker.com….
Starting today, all Instagram users can omit likes and views from displaying on their own image and video posts. And if you really want a fully “likes-free” experience, the app now lets you hide the likes and view counters on all posts in your timeline.
Instagram considered removing public like counts from the app entirely while testing these new features. However, the company says it chose to make likes optional for users who prefer to “focus on the photos and videos being shared, instead of how many likes posts get,” while leaving the functionality in place.
Removing public like counts on all posts wouldn’t make much sense, anyway—Instagram likes are an important audience engagement metric for brands and influencers.
That said, likes can also be a distraction; not everyone who uses Instagram is looking to build a huge following, and having the option to turn them off is great for those who’d rather simply focus on sharing and browsing posts without being hit in the face with analytics and popularity.
