Social Network X Makes Likes Private, Enhancing User Privacy
The social media platform, Social Network X, has announced adjustments to the visibility of ‘likes’. As reported by The Verge, the platform aims at hiding user likes on posts by default. This privacy feature is already active for X Premium subscribers.
Protecting Users and Encouraging Engagement
Elon Musk, the owner of Social Network X, endorsed the change, noting that “it’s important to allow people to like posts without fear of audience backlash”. This comment comes following statements from the platform’s CTO, Haofei Wang, last month. Wang explained the goal of this feature to safeguard users’ public image, as several users felt insecure while engaging with controversial content. He continues, “Soon, you can like without worrying about who will see it”.
The Muted Like Feature and User Interaction
According to Enrique Barragan, a senior software engineer at X, ‘like’ indications will no longer appear in user profiles. However, users will still be able to view the total number of likes and the profiles that liked their posts. However, they will not be able to view the likes on other participants’ posts.
Changes in User Interaction Metrics
Elon Musk expressed his desire last year to remove action buttons in tweets fully and focus more on post views or impressions.
