X is about to start hiding all likes

X is rolling retired private likes arsenic soon arsenic today, according to a root astatine nan company. That intends what users for illustration connected nan level will beryllium hidden by default, which is already an action for X’s Premium subscribers.

A fewer weeks ago, the company’s head of engineering, Haofei Wang, said nan alteration is meant to protect users’ nationalist image — because “many group consciousness discouraged” to for illustration “edgy” content. The Likes tab connected personification profiles will beryllium gone. Users will still beryllium capable to spot who liked their posts and nan for illustration count for each posts, but they will not spot nan group who liked personification else’s post, according to X elder package technologist Enrique Barragan. (He besides hinted astatine nan motorboat today successful a post.)

“Soon you’ll beryllium capable to for illustration without worrying who mightiness spot it,” Wang said successful a post.

Late past year, X proprietor Elon Musk told nan platform’s engineers that he wanted to get free of nan tweet action buttons altogether and alternatively spot a stronger accent connected station views (also called “impressions”). Musk’s extremity was to region nan conception that contained nan for illustration and repost buttons wholly because Musk believed likes weren’t important, a root told maine astatine nan time.

“Social media successful wide is shifting distant from for illustration counts, truthful this makes sense,” nan root said. “Part of maine thinks [Musk] conscionable wants to disassociate from Twitter much and more.”