A little while ago, we found out that Instagram was testing hiding post likes in several countries. Mia Garlick, a spokesperson for Facebook said at the time: “We hope this test will remove the pressure of how many likes a post will receive, so you can focus on sharing the things you love” but the company have not yet shared the results of their testing.

We’ve now heard reports that Facebook are considering the same functionality in their main app. Reverse engineering expert Jane Machun Wong spotted a test like display this week in the Android app, where it didn’t show the full count on reactions, just a summary.

This is almost identical to Instagram where users can still tap and see the amount of likes a post has, but their followers can’t see the total.

Facebook is the largest social media platform in the world and we expect that many users will welcome the stronger focus on individual wellbeing, which has become a bit of a buzz word recently. Like Instagram, this move could also encourage users to be bolder with the content they post, as there’s less concern about other users seeing how a post performs.

What does this mean for users?

Users will still be able to see their own post’s performance and businesses will still be able to track and report on Insights from inside Business Manager. This shouldn’t affect the algorithm either, so posts should still appear in the feed based on personal engagement.

We believe that Facebook remains a great way for brands to showcase striking content and ad campaigns with great copy. Keeping your audience engaged in Facebook conversation is a great way to stay relevant and drive traffic back to your website. Facebook also offers the best type of advertising for brands that want to target specific audiences.

If you’re concerned that this new feature might mean a drop in engagement for your Page, we can offer expert advice and custom solutions. Contact us here or email [email protected] with more details and our team will be in touch shortly.