You can hide like counts on Instagram in two ways: stop others from seeing how many likes your posts get, or stop seeing like counts on posts from people you follow
Instagram lets you control both directions of like visibility. You can hide the number of likes on your own posts so your followers see engagement without seeing a count. You can also hide like counts on other people's posts in your own feed, so you stop seeing those numbers when you scroll. These are separate settings — turning one on does not affect the other.
The reason to do this varies. Some people hide their own like counts to reduce the pressure of chasing engagement metrics. Others hide counts on posts they see to break the habit of comparing their own content to what appears popular. Both settings are in your account preferences and take less than a minute to change.
Key Takeaways
- You can hide like counts on your own posts through Settings > Privacy > Hide Like and View Counts on Your Posts, which hides the number from everyone except you.
- You can hide like counts on posts in your feed through Settings > Privacy > Hide Like and View Counts on Other Posts, which only affects what you see.
- Hiding your own like counts does not prevent Instagram from collecting engagement data — the platform still tracks it internally and shows it to you in your Insights.
- You can change these settings back at any time, and there is no penalty for turning them on and off.
- Hiding like counts on your own posts may reduce engagement if your audience relies on social proof, since visible numbers can encourage others to engage.
How to hide like counts on posts you create
Open Instagram and go to your profile. Tap the menu icon (three horizontal lines) in the top right corner, then select Settings and Privacy. Scroll down to the Privacy section and tap Hide Like and View Counts on Your Posts. Toggle the switch to turn it on.
Once this is on, your followers will see that your posts have likes and comments, but they will not see the number. You will still see the count in your own Insights tab and when you view your own post. The setting applies to all future posts you create — it does not retroactively hide counts on posts you already published.
If you want to hide counts on older posts, you have two options: delete and repost them, or leave them as they are. Instagram does not offer a bulk retroactive setting. Most people who turn this on straightforward accept that old posts still show counts and move forward from the date they enable the feature.
How to hide like counts on other people's posts
Go to Settings and Privacy, then scroll to the Privacy section and tap Hide Like and View Counts on Other Posts. Toggle the switch on. This hides the like count on every post in your feed — both from accounts you follow and from ads.
This setting is personal to your account. It does not affect what other people see when they look at the same posts. If your friend has this setting off, they will still see like counts on posts you both follow. You are only changing your own view.
You can turn this setting on and off as often as you want. Some people turn it on during times when they feel social media is affecting their mood, then turn it back off later. There is no record kept of when you toggle it, and Instagram does not notify anyone that you have made this change.
What Instagram still tracks when you hide like counts
Hiding like counts from your followers does not stop Instagram from collecting engagement data. The platform still counts every like, comment, share, and save on your posts. You can see all of this in your Insights tab, which shows you detailed metrics about how your content performs.
Instagram uses this data internally for its own purposes: to train its recommendation algorithm, to decide which posts appear in the feed, and to inform advertisers about audience behavior. Hiding the count from your audience does not change any of that. The data collection happens whether the count is visible or not.
If you are concerned about Instagram's data collection practices in general, hiding like counts is a visibility choice, not a privacy choice. It changes what other people see, not what Instagram collects about you.
Why hiding like counts might change how people engage with your posts
Research on social media behavior suggests that visible like counts influence whether people engage with a post. When people see that a post has many likes, they are more likely to like it themselves — a pattern called social proof. When the count is hidden, people cannot use that signal to decide whether to engage.
This can work in two directions. Some creators find that hiding like counts reduces their total engagement because followers are not influenced by visible popularity. Others find that engagement stays the same or even increases because people engage based on the content itself rather than the crowd. The effect depends on your audience and content type.
If you hide like counts on your own posts, you might want to monitor your Insights for a few weeks to see whether engagement changes. You can always turn the setting back on if you notice a significant drop.
How to turn like count hiding back on
Go to Settings and Privacy, find the setting you want to change (Hide Like and View Counts on Your Posts or Hide Like and View Counts on Other Posts), and toggle it off. The change takes effect when ready.
If you turn off hiding on your own posts, like counts will become visible again on all future posts. Old posts that were published while hiding was on will still show no count — Instagram does not retroactively add counts to posts that were published hidden.
There is no waiting period or confirmation required. You can change these settings as many times as you want without any effect on your account.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can people tell if I have hidden like counts on my posts?
No. When someone visits your profile or sees your post in their feed, they straightforward see no number. They cannot tell whether you hid the count or whether the post just has zero likes. There is no indicator that the setting is on.
If I hide like counts on other posts, can I still see them if I click on a post?
Yes. Hiding like counts in your feed hides the count from the main feed view, but if you tap into a post to see the full comments and details, the like count will appear there. The setting only hides the count from the feed itself.
Does hiding like counts affect Instagram Stories or Reels?
The setting applies to feed posts and Reels. Stories work differently — you can only see story views if you posted the story yourself, and your followers never see view counts on your stories. There is no separate setting for Stories.
Will Instagram notify my followers if I turn this setting on?
No. Instagram does not send notifications about privacy setting changes. Your followers will straightforward notice one day that like counts are no longer visible on your posts, but they will not receive an announcement.
Can I hide like counts on just some of my posts, not all of them?
No. The setting is all-or-nothing — it applies to all posts you create going forward, or none of them. You cannot selectively hide counts on individual posts. If you want some posts to show counts and others not to, you would need to turn the setting on and off between posts.