Last month, Instagram began testing hiding likes for users worldwide, in an effort to alleviate the negative impacts of social media.
However, for influencers and other marketers working with the social media platform, this update has been highly contested. Now, the social media analytics company Socialinsider has launched a browser tool which unhides likes.
“The Return of the Likes” Chrome extension displays the numbers of likes for posts on the top-right corner on Instagram’s website. As to why it created the tool to reverse the Instagram update, SocialInsider explained “The idea behind it is to make it easier for social media marketers to have a quick progress view when partnering with other companies, agencies and, especially, when working with influencers.” The only limitation is that for now, the feature is not available through the mobile Instagram app.
While Instagram still hasn’t rolled out hidden likes fully, many users around the globe already have the new feature. The social media platform has noted the “positive” outcomes from its test run and claims it is aware of marketers’ concerns, saying it is “thinking through ways for creators to communicate value to their partners.”
In addition, we understand that like counts are important for many creators, and we are actively thinking through ways for creators to communicate value to their partners.
— Instagram (@instagram) November 14, 2019
Source: Highsnobiety