In a move that has stirred mixed reactions, X, formerly Twitter, is set to undergo another significant transformation under the stewardship of Elon Musk. This latest update will see the removal of public “likes” from users’ profiles, a change that has not been widely requested by the platform’s community.
According to Haofei Wang, X’s Director of Engineering, the decision to make likes private is aimed at fostering a more authentic interaction on the platform. “Yeah, we are making likes private,” Wang stated in a response on X, indicating a shift towards enhancing user privacy.
This update was first hinted at by Aaron Perris, a researcher at MacRumors, who discovered a new feature in the X app for iOS that, when activated, hides the likes tab on a user’s profile.
This revelation sparked a flurry of speculation among the X community, prompting further clarification from Wang. He explained, “Public likes are incentivizing the wrong behavior. Many people feel discouraged from liking content that might be ‘edgy’ in fear of retaliation from trolls, or to protect their public image.”
X Tests Removing Likes and Reposts from Timelines
A software engineer from Elon Musk’s X, has said that in the near future, likes and reposts may stop appearing on users’ timelines.
“This change is still ‘dogfooded’ by staff, though I am not directly part of it.” On April 29, X… pic.twitter.com/8rwJKYM7Gs
— EchoeWeb (@Echoeweb) April 30, 2024
Elon Musk’s X: Understanding the Impact on User Engagement
Despite the removal of public visibility of likes, Enrique Barragan, X’s Senior Software Engineer, clarified that users would still be able to see who liked their posts. Moreover, the total number of likes on posts and replies will remain visible to all. This selective visibility aims to maintain a level of engagement metrics while protecting individual user preferences and sensitivities.
This nuanced approach to likes could potentially shift how users interact with content, encouraging more genuine likes and interactions free from social scrutiny. “Soon you’ll be able to like without worrying who might see it,” Wang added, suggesting that this change could also improve the platform’s content recommendation algorithms.
The Broader Implications of X’s Privacy Changes
While this move by X is not unprecedented—paying X Premium subscribers have already had the option to hide their likes—it represents a broader trend in social media towards greater personal privacy. However, it also raises questions about the transparency of user engagement and the potential for hidden agendas, especially given Elon Musk’s controversial history of liking provocative content.
Mashable notes that while not all proposed updates by Elon Musk materialize, the readiness of the code for this feature suggests that the removal of public likes could indeed be imminent. This change might avoid the pitfalls of social media’s impact on mental health, which some studies suggest is exacerbated by public engagement metrics.
As X prepares to roll out this feature, the community and observers alike are watching closely. Will this change lead to a healthier social media environment, or will it simply mask the controversial likes of high-profile users like Elon Musk himself? Only time will tell how this adjustment will reshape interactions on the platform, potentially setting a precedent for privacy over popularity in the social media landscape.
