Twitter Removes Likes: The Real Reason To Hide This Metric

Twitter removes likes — was one of the headlines about the social media platform in June 2024. But if you check your feed, you’ll notice that you can still see the number of likes on every post.

This article explains what is going on with this social network. It highlights why Twitter’s new leadership made this decision. Keep reading to get the full picture of likes on Twitter.

Did Twitter Remove Likes?

Yes, Twitter did remove likes. The platform no longer shows who liked a post unless you’re the author. This is why you can still see the number of likes beneath every tweet, now post.

In other words, it isn’t like Instagram, where you can hide the number of likes beneath every post.

Earlier, you could see the names of all the users who liked a specific tweet by following these steps:

1. You went to your X account and opened any tweet in your feed.
2. You left-clicked the three-dot or overflow button on the post and selected View Post Engagements.

The platform had a public Likes tab, which listed all the users who engaged with the tweet. Now, you can only see Quotes and Reposts. Similarly, if you tap the number of likes in the expanded view on a post, it no longer does anything.

If you visit your profile page, you’ll see the Likes tab. This contains all the posts you liked from your account. However, when you go to another user’s profile page, you’ll notice there isn’t any Likes tab.

In September 2023, the social network introduced a new feature for X Premium subscribers — Hide Likes Tab. This lets you private likes on your profile page, ensuring it isn’t visible to anyone else. In June 2024, the platform made this the default setting for every user, even if they’ were not subscribers.

Why Did Twitter Remove Likes?

Twitter removed likes to protect people’s privacy on the platform and give them the freedom to engage with any post. The social network believed users didn’t engage with specific posts because of the potential backlash. It also prevents retaliation from trolls.

For instance, high-profile public figures like Harry Styles, Samuel L. Jackson, and Ted Cruz experienced this first-hand. Several users noticed that the accounts of these individuals liked not safe for work (NSFW) content on the platform.

By removing the Likes tab, no one will ever know what tweets you like with your account. However, the post’s author will get a notification whenever someone likes their tweet.

This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t like posts. Liking content on Twitter lets the platform know what you find interesting, which improves its recommendation algorithm.

Twitter Removes Likes: Pros and Cons

Is it a good idea for Twitter to remove likes from the platform? Let’s take a closer look at how this move can affect the social network:

Pros:

• You no longer have to worry about random people going through your Likes tab.
• You can like certain posts without worrying about how it will affect your public image.
• You get some level of privacy, as no one other than the author can see your likes.

Cons:

• Bad actors and other users can buy likes to increase engagement for their posts.
• The tweet’s author can still share screenshots of your likes on their posts, affecting your reputation.
• It can become harder to gauge if a tweet’s engagement metrics are genuine or fake.

Remove Your Likes on Twitter With TweetDelete

Twitter removed likes to ensure its users don’t have to think too much about what posts they engage with. However, you can’t hide the like count, which will always be visible on every post.

As highlighted earlier, the tweet’s author can always see who liked their tweets. If you like controversial, NSFW, insensitive, or offensive content on X, the posts’ publishers can share this activity. This can affect your reputation with your friends, family, coworkers, and employer.

The best way to prevent this from becoming your reality is to delete your likes. However, this is time-consuming and requires significant manual effort. TweetDelete, a highly rated third-party app, can help by reducing the time it takes to remove your likes.

It has the unlike tweets feature, which helps you select and delete your likes from specific tweets. 

You also have other features, like auto-delete and mass-delete tweets. These utilities are handy for bulk-deleting posts from your account page. They ensure your older tweets will never become a problem.

These features rely on TweetDelete’s custom filter. It can find posts based on tweet type, keywords, and date range. Moreover, there won’t be any indication that you removed specific posts and likes from your profile page.

It helps keep your online life private, similar to how Twitter removes likes. This is essential if you’re applying for a new job that does social media background checks. It can also be helpful if you don’t want people to know what you do on Twitter.

Join TweetDelete today and get access to all the features that will keep your reputation safe forever!

FAQ

If you still have questions about Twitter removing likes, go through the following section.