Chances are if you like something you’d like the world to know! Yet, beginning this week on X—the social media platform formerly known as Twitter—likes are now private, at least to everyone but the one getting liked and the user doing the liking.
Users can see which posts they liked, but others cannot. Likewise, the poster will still see who liked it, while the like count will remain the same as before.
X, which rolled out the change with little fanfare, said it was done “to better protect” the privacy of users. Previously the ability to hide likes was an option for premium subscribers on the platform.
“Public likes are incentivizing the wrong behavior. For example, many people feel discouraged from liking content that might be ‘edgy’ in fear of retaliation from trolls, or to protect their public image. Soon you’ll be able to like without worrying who might see it,” Haofei Wang, X’s director of engineering, announced via a tweet last month.
Making likes private on X is just the latest change the platform formerly known as Twitter has seen since tech entrepreneur Elon Musk gained control of the company nearly a year and a half ago.
“Musk has a history of floating edgy ideas for X and not implementing or slow walking them, using these announcements as a distraction from other challenges that he’s created for the site, or getting on a soap-box related to free speech. Often there is a hidden agenda,” said technology industry analyst Susan Schreiner of C4 Trends.
Will It Impact Accountability
There is no denying that some people may have wished they didn’t like a controversial post, yet, this may only encourage more people to offer their support on such issues.
“This change by X will be a large change on the platform,” suggested Dr. Cliff Lampe, professor of information and associate dean for academic affairs in the School of Information at the University of Michigan.
“The statements by the company express this as a move to privilege privacy. However, the power users of X are public figures—and sometimes transparency of public figures has to offset their privacy,” Lampe added. “Making likes private will mean that people won’t be as accountable for what they like on the platform.”
That could take away a type of public review and consequent accountability that comes with it.
“More subtly, likes deeply shape the algorithm and what people see. Removing that layer of transparency makes the algorithm for the feed of X all that more opaque,” Lampe continued.
Are Likes A Poor Form Of Acknowledgement?
The fact also remains many people like the posts of those they follow, often without paying any significant attention to what they are clicking on. The fact that likes are no longer public could likely increase the likes—but without anything meaningful coming from it.
“Likes serve two functions,” explained Schreiner. “One is to provide data to that platform so that it can deliver more personalized information, and also serve as a tool to sell advertisers. The other is more passive and functions as a nod of approval or appreciation, which is a major tool of online community building. This is part of the user experience.”
For most uses on X, likes have been a signal that the people seeing your content “liked it”—but that may not have always been the case. Some of the likes may have been the result of muscle memory with users going through the motions, and liking posts from friends and colleagues.
“Many people subtly, almost subconsciously, share their posts to receive more likes,” said Lampe. “But likes are also an important external signal. For example, they show people what is normative in an online space. They also show who liked a post, which can shape how people see content one way or another. All of this adds up to what is quietly going to be a major change to how X operates.”
X has said that this update was to encourage free expression, but even that isn’t so cut and dry.
“The rationale for obscuring likes is ridiculous,” she added. “By concealing the identity of tweet-likers, is Musk allowing people to stick to their convictions, or by shielding the identity of accounts that like posts, is he opening the door to mischief?”
For one with the country being in an election cycle, obscuring likes could enable foreign governments and bad actors to influence and interfere in campaigns and elections by superficially inflating numbers. It could help misinformation and disinformation seem more credible as likes are too often seen as a form of accountability and confirmation.
“Is there another nefarious purpose,” pondered Schreiner. “Could it be that Musk is attempting to conceal the embarrassing deluge of spam, bots, and platform manipulation on X—especially since he eliminated so many safeguards? He even dismantled the content moderation infrastructure that was designed to prevent antisocial behavior.”