The most popular photo sharing app Instagram has decided to test out removing likes from a select number of users on their platform.
Instagram head Adam Mosseri announced the news on November 8 and is removing likes from seven countries including the U.S. Only certain users will experience this feature as they are only testing it out at this time.
The entire Instagram layout remains the same except the part where you can see the likes. No one can see the likes you receive on a post but you can see your own likes.
Taking away the ability to see others likes was a decision made to help users enjoy the post rather than focus on likes.
While Instagram claims the removal of likes would be in the best interest of the users it is evident that Instagram would be profiting immensely off of this update.
Instagram offers the ability to advertise through the app where depending on how much you pay, your advertisement of choice will show up in users timelines.
This feature isn’t used very often because companies prefer advertising with Instagram influencers with a large social media following catered to their audience of choice.
Once influencers reach over 10,000 followers they usually begin getting brand deals where they will either be sent products for free and review them or get paid to speak about a product.
Influencers like Kim Kardashian with over 153 million followers can make up to 1 million dollars per sponsored post.
This option is more effective because of how much people are able to be influenced by the people they follow rather than a random pop up ad in a timeline.
By disabling the ability to view the like of others, Instagram would be putting a lot of influencers out of business, as advertisements are their main source of income.
In addition, Instagram strategically took away likes as a way to take away advertising deals from outside businesses, as hidden likes would not seem appealing. Now, influencers will be forced to advertise with Instagram instead.
2020-03-11