X to make likes private, count to remain public

WEB DESK: Social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, will soon make users’ “likes” private, according to a recent announcement from the company. This decision, confirmed by X engineers on Wednesday, follows the discovery of a new feature in X’s iOS app.

A user noticed that disabling a specific flag within the app completely removes the “Likes” tab from all user profiles. This finding was shared on the platform and subsequently verified by X’s engineering team.

Haofei Wang, X’s Director of Engineering, commented on the change: “Public likes are incentivising the wrong behavior. Many people feel discouraged from liking content that might be considered ‘edgy’ for fear of backlash or to protect their public image. Soon, you’ll be able to like without worrying who might see it.”

Wang also highlighted the benefits of liking posts privately, noting that it enhances the platform’s ‘For you’ algorithm, making it more personalized for each user.

To clarify the new feature, X’s Senior Software Engineer Enrique Barragan explained that while users will still see who liked their posts and the total like count for all posts and replies, the public visibility of which posts others have liked will be removed. This means the “Liked” tab on public profiles will no longer be visible.

Previously, X Premium subscribers had the option to hide the Likes tab on their profiles. However, this upcoming change will apply to all users on the platform.

The exact rollout date for this feature has not been disclosed, but once implemented, it will allow everyone, including X owner Elon Musk, to like posts privately without public scrutiny.

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