See you later, social media anxiety
As of today, Instagram is allowing users to now hide the amount of likes their posts get *insert applause here*.
It's not just your own images - you also now have the option to hide how many likes other people get on their posts, too.
The app, which was first launched in 2010, has been criticised for the comparison culture it can sometimes promote, impacting people's day-to-day self confidence and esteem.
According to Royal Society of Public Health, social media has been linked with mental health issues like increased anxiety, depressive symptoms, negative body image and sleep problems.
In a statement, Instagram said: "Starting today, we’re giving you the option to hide like counts on all posts in your feed. You’ll also have the option to hide like counts on your own posts, so others can’t see how many likes your posts get. This way, if you like, you can focus on the photos and videos being shared, instead of how many likes posts get".
Don't worry: the new feature is an optional choice for users.
Why so? Well, during their research, Instagram found that not everyone wants to hide their likes. Essentially, they're leaving it down to individual choice.
So, how can you hide your likes on Instagram and Facebook?
Good question - but it's quite simple, according to the brand.
They shared: "You can hide like counts on others’ posts by visiting the new Posts section in Settings. This control applies to all the posts in your feed."
They added: "You can also choose to hide like counts before sharing a post. You can turn this setting on or off, even after it goes live. People want more flexibility, so we thought it would be important to give people the option. In the next few weeks you will see both of these controls come to Facebook."
It's worth noting here, if you do hide the likes from your day-to-day feed, you can still hop into your Analytics for an insight into how your posts have been doing. It just makes it slightly more difficult, and removes automatically being confronted with a count like every time you go on the app.
Will you be trying out Insta's new feature?