How to hide likes and view counts on Facebook and Instagram

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How to hide likes and views on Facebook and Instagram
Not interested in likes? Get rid of them.
Image: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

Facebook and Instagram have added the ability to hide likes and view counts — a feature that’s been in the works for a while. You can block counts on your own posts and well as on those from others.

We’ll show you how to enable the setting inside Facebook and Instagram for iPhone and iPad.

Although some social media buffs live for likes and comments, others aren’t interested in how popular their posts may or may not be. In fact, many would prefer it if they didn’t see likes or view counts at all.

Now you have that option inside Facebook and Instagram as part of a privacy settings upgrade. Here’s how you can use it.

How to hide reaction counts on Facebook

To hide reaction counts on Facebook, follow these steps inside the official Facebook app for iPhone and iPad:

  1. Tap the three lines in the bottom-right corner of the app.
  2. Tap Settings & Privacy, then tap Settings.
  3. Scroll down to the News Feed settings, then tap Reaction preferences or Reaction counts.
  4. Choose whether you want to disable reaction counts on posts from others, on your posts, or both.
How to hide likes and views on Facebook and Instragram
Choose to hide others’ likes, your own, or both.
Screenshots: Cult of Mac

Disabling reaction counts on posts from others also disables them inside Pages and groups. However, you will still counts in some other places, including Marketplace. Your reactions will also be visible to others.

Disabling reaction counts on your own posts prevents others from seeing counts on your profile. Reaction counts will still appear on your posts in other places, like inside groups and reels.

How to hide likes and views on Instagram

To hide likes and view counts on posts from others on Instagram, follow these steps inside the Instagram app for iPhone:

  1. Tap the profile button in the bottom-right corner of the app.
  2. Tap the three lines in the top-right corner.
  3. Select Settings.
  4. Select Privacy.
  5. Tap Posts.
  6. Tap the toggle alongside Hide Like and View Counts to enable it.
How to hide likes and views on Facebook and Instagram
Enter Instagram’s privacy settings, then tap “Posts.”
Screenshots: Cult of Mac

To hide likes and view counts on your own posts on Instagram, tap Advanced settings while creating a new post. Then tap the toggle alongside Hide like and view counts on this post.

How to hide likes and views on Facebook and Instagram
Hide likes and views on your own posts before you publish them.
Screenshots: Cult of Mac

Note that you will need to do this for each individual post — the setting does not apply to all.

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