Facebook is exploring the possibility of hiding the number of likes under posts. This TechCrunch publication. However, the first source Jane Manchun Wong is a researcher and IT professional. She specializes in application reverse engineering.
Vaughn said she found a feature in the code for the Facebook Android app that would hide likes. There is a similar system in Instagram. The reason for this decision is called the concern for the mental health of the user.
Some researchers note that excessive use of social media can affect mental health, cause anxiety and depression. Including due to the small number of likes. Therefore, the new feature should, as expected, show their number only to the author of the post.
At the same time, although Facebook confirmed the existence of such a function, they said that testing it had not yet begun. The possibility of its full launch is also still in question. The company noted that they plan a gradual rollout, but testing may be terminated ahead of schedule if its results negatively affect the advertising business on the social network. In general, nothing personal.
At the moment, such an opportunity is also being tested in the Russian social network VKontakte, but there is no timeline for a full-fledged launch there yet. The test began on August 5, and many users found out that they were in the test group after the fact.
At the same time, the press service of VK confirmed the fact of testing this function. The reason for this was the fact that the number of likes has long been a measure of the level of content. And therefore, VK wants to check whether this is really so.
Source: 3dnews.ru