How to Hide Likes on Instagram
You can hide your likes count under your account settings on the Instagram app or web version.
Let’s face it. Instagram as an online community will always be a popularity contest — where the number of likes a post garners determine how well people interact with it. This system means posts from less popular accounts get sidelined, regardless of how much value they pack.
If you can’t stand any more seconds of this pattern and would like to define your interactions with a post and, on the other hand, not feel intimated or embarrassed by your number of likes, your best bet is to disable Instagram likes overall.
Thankfully, you can stop people from seeing your likes and also disable the visibility of others people’s likes. Read on below to find out how.
How to Turn Off Likes on Instagram
The option to disable visibility for Instagram likes is tucked away somewhere in the app’s settings, so you’ll find it relatively easy to tweak. The changes you make will save on the cloud for your Instagram account. And what this means is that the changes will not be kept on the Instagram app’s cache and will revert when you stop using the app on your device.
In addition, if you disable Instagram likes on your account, the changes will take effect across all posts in your feed; thus, you won’t have to go through the stress of disabling it one post after the other. With further ado, let’s jump right into your Instagram account settings.
Hiding Instagram Likes Before Making a Post
You can disable likes before your post goes online by following these steps:
- Create an Instagram post as you would on other occasions
- When you get to the final screen where you’ll tap Share, scroll to the bottom and tap Advanced Settings
- You’ll be taken to a new screen; use the toggle bar next to Hide Like and View Counts on This Post to disable Instagram likes for that post alone.
- Return to the previous screen and click Share. The post will go online without you being able to see the likes it garners.
Hiding Instagram Likes on Posts from Other Accounts
Navigating to the settings may differ depending on your operating system, but the focal point is to ensure that you get to Post settings under Privacy. To do this,
- Tap Your Profile
- Click the hamburger button at the top of the screen and then select Settings
- Next, navigate to and tap Privacy
- On the next screen, use the toggle next to Hide Like and View Counts
With this option disabled, you’ll no longer see likes and view counts on Instagram posts on your feed.
How to Disable Likes for Posts You’ve Already Created
Disabling likes on posts you’ve already created is just as easy as the other methods above, and you won’t even need to dive into the settings to do that. To disable likes on posts that have gone online,
- Navigate to the target post under your posts history
- Tap the horizontal/vertical three-dots in the upper-right corner of the post’s header
- Tap Hide Like Count from the options that pop up next
How to Hide Likes on Instagram Reels
Things get a tad complicated when it comes to hiding likes on Instagram reels. Instagram doesn’t allow you to hide reels from the app, be it on Android or iPhone. However, there is a workaround on the web or desktop version.
The following steps will guide you:
- Visit Instagram.com on the preferred browser on your PC
- On Instagram homepage, click your display picture in the top-right corner and click Profile
- Next, click the Reels tab in between Posts and Videos
- Open the reel whose likes you would like to hide
- Click the horizontal three-dot at the top-right
- From the options that pop up, click Hide Like Count
And that’s how to turn off likes on Instagram reels. The likes on the reel won’t appear to viewers henceforth. You can repeat the steps above for other reels whose likes you’d like to hide. If you’re using an Android or iPhone, you can still hide your reels’ likes count, but not on the app.
Here’s to go about it:
How to Hide Like Count on Instagram Reels iPhone & Android
- Open a browser on your Android or iPhone, preferably Chrome
- Visit Instagram.com and log into your account
- Now, click the horizontal three-dots (iPhone) or vertical three-dots (Android)
- Next, tap Request Desktop Site (iPhone) or Desktop Site (Android)
- Tap your display picture in the top-right corner and then Profile
- Go to the Reels tab, the one with a film icon
- Open the reel whose likes you want to hide
- Tap the horizontal three dots next to its title
- Finally, tap Hide Like Count
That’s it! You’ve hidden the likes on your Instagram reel. Again, you can repeat the steps for other reels.
How to See Hidden Likes on Instagram
It makes sense to be able to see your total likes while they’re hidden from others, right? But you’d be disappointed to learn that it’s not possible on the Instagram app. You’ll have to use the desktop version yet again to see them. To do this,
- Open Instagram on your desktop browser or launch it in desktop view on your smartphone
- Tap on the post or reel whose like count you want to see
- Click on others; i.e., Liked by (an Instagram username) and others
- View the likes count right above the text only you can see the total number of likes on your posts
I Can’t Turn Off Instagram Likes
If you can’t turn off your Instagram likes, it’s most likely due to a bug on the app. Updating your app should fix it. Otherwise, clear the cache for Instagram in your apps settings. Better yet, you can use the web version of Instagram to hide your likes, as it’s more reliable.
Final Notes
That’s it! You can now browse through posts on Instagram without your perception of them influenced by their view counts or how many likes they’ve garnered. Any of the methods demonstrated above will help you in that regard.
