Your Instagram Likes Could Disappear Starting Next Week

Just like we used to get high as teenagers and ponder what’s at the edge of the galaxy, these days we sometimes imagine what would happen if Instagram just wasn’t there one day.

Well, some of us will come hella close to finding out soon as Facebook’s little vanity project tests a wild idea to become less vain.

“Later this week, we’re running a test in Canada that removes the total number of likes on photos and video views in Feed, Permalink pages and Profile,” said an Instagram spokesperson in an interview with TechCrunch.

No like count. In Canada. Later this week.

Can you imagine? I can, and it’s great. But why would a company built on dopamine triggers do such a thing? “We are testing this because we want your followers to focus on the photos and videos you share, not how many likes they get,” explained the spokesperson. Ok, but still – why? 

The move is part of a broader digital well-being push that will see Instagram test several features to promote healthier use and interactions among its roughly 1 billion users.

Other such features include a “nudge” whenever someone is about to comment something harmful, an “away mode” which encourages users to ditch the ‘gram during turbulent periods of their life, and a more comprehensive way for users to interact with each other beyond what’s possible by merely having a private profile or blocking people.