Making good on a promise made earlier this year, X has confirmed that Likes have now been made private for all users on the social platform. Elon Musk says that that change has been made because it is “important to allow people to like posts without getting attacked for doing so”.
Hiding Likes was something that was only previously available to paying X subscribers, but now it has rolled out to everyone. Musk is already claiming that there has been a “massive increase” in Likes since they were made private.
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There is no freedom of choice when it comes to showing or hiding likes — the option is enabled for all users, with no way to make them visible again. Likes have been used as an important metric on Twitter and X for many years, and are used by many people as a way to judge and understand other users, so the change is hugely significant.
The move is being billed as a boost to privacy, and a post from the X engineering team makes some important points, clarifying that while you will be able to see your own likes, it will not be possible to see those made by others:
The long-term impact of the hiding of Likes is yet to be seen, but for now it is being highlighted as being freeing and democratizing by Musk, who points to a jump in liking:
The hiding of Likes comes hot on the heels of X changing its policies to permit the posting of adult content, including images of nudity and sexual activity. Are the two linked? That’s for you to judge.
Image credit: Olena Churilova / Dreamstime.com
