It often feels good when your Instagram followers engage with your post through likes and comments. But that’s not always the case. Sometimes, you don’t want the numbers to distract your audience. That’s when you hide likes—or maybe even comments.
You may want to hide likes on your Instagram account because:
- Your page is growing, and you don’t want the numbers negatively affecting it.
- You want to keep your followers’ information private.
- You want the audience to focus on the content, not the numbers.
Whatever the reason, here’s how to do so.
Hide Individual Post’s Likes Before Posting Them
To hide the number of likes on a single IG post, tap the “Advanced Settings” under “Also Post to.” Finally, toggle “Hide likes and view counts on this post.” And then proceed to share your image or video.
If you’ve already posted the content, tap the three dots next to it and select “Hide like counts” or “Hide like and view counts.”
Once you turn this setting on, no one will be able to see the number of likes or views on that particular post. But it only works for your Feed. And people will still see the likes or views on places like Reels.
Hide IG Likes in Bulk
If you want to hide likes on all of your Instagram posts, go to Settings and select Privacy. Then tap “Posts” and toggle on the first option that says “Hide Likes and View Counts.”
Be mindful that once you turn on this setting, you’ll no longer see likes or views on posts from other users. So, it’s similar to Activity Status: if you toggle it off, it applies the setting to people you follow.
How Would Your Posts Look Like After Hiding the Likes?
When you hide likes on Instagram posts, others only see your username under the like, share, and comment buttons. So, your post looks like it has no likes. In other words, no numbers or names appear above the caption, but users would still see the number of comments.
Who Can See Your Hidden Instagram Likes?
You can see who likes your posts even after hiding them. But unlike Instagram Close Friends, you can’t decide who can see the likes or views on a post.
Why Can’t You Hide Your Instagram Likes?
Hiding likes and view counts are not universally available features. So, it’s probably because of your region that you can’t use it. Meta has not revealed any specific plan to make it a global feature, but it’s best to keep your app updated so that you don’t miss out on it.
You can also try changing your IP address to USA because Instagram often tests most of its new features in that region. So, by using a fake IP, you may be able to hide your likes and benefit from other region-exclusive features.
How to Bring Back Hidden Likes
If you have turned off likes on your posts/videos, go to Settings, tap Posts, and toggle off the option “Hide Likes and View Counts.” This should bring back the number of people who’ve engaged with your content.
If you’ve turned on the setting for an individual post, tap the three dots next to it and select “Unhide the Likes” to bring back the number of likes or view counts.
The Catch Is That You Won’t See Others’ Likes
Hiding likes on Instagram could be beneficial, reducing social media distractions. But you need to know that turning the setting on will hide all the likes and view counts on other users’ posts. So, by not allowing others to see your likes, you also give up on your right to see theirs.
Here’s a Quick Recap
- To hide the likes on your IG account, go to Settings > Posts > Hide Likes and View Counts.
- To do the same for a single image or video, tap the three dots next to it and select “Hide Likes.”
- You can always toggle off the setting and bring back the likes.
- You can see who likes your content even if you hide the numbers.
