X Is Making Likes Invisible to All but Original Posters

Three weeks after X’s director of engineering Haofei Wang said the company planned to make “likes” on the platform private, that major change is happening. That means users on X, formerly Twitter, will still see posts they liked and who liked their posts, but other users won’t see those likes.

“This week, we’re making Likes private for everyone to better protect your privacy,” the company said Tuesday in a post from the platform’s engineering team account, XEng.

Read more: Elon Musk Uses X to Air His Grievances Over Apple-OpenAI Deal. Here’s Why

The post goes on to say that like counts and other metrics will still appear under notifications, but the days when users could see what other people are liking have ended.

X owner Elon Musk confirmed by reposting the message, adding, “Important change: your likes are now private.”

Read more: How Elon Musk pronounces his son’s name, ‘X Æ A-12’

The platform change marks a major departure for the nearly 18-year-old platform. The ability for users to see what posts other users have liked has landed politicians in trouble for liking inappropriate posts, and has been cited in celebrity feuds and breakups. 

Reaction on X itself was split between users making jokes comparing like-watching to stalking, with others expressing relief that the practice won’t take up people’s time anymore. Some posted pornographic images (which Twitter now allows, but perhaps didn’t expect in this context), suggesting that it’s OK to like adult content now that nobody can see those likes.

The main X account posted a creepy line drawing of a partygoer standing in a corner while others dance. Text on the illustration reads, “They don’t know i’ve liked this post.”

Given all the changes at X over the last two years, it might be wise to still use likes with caution and assume that they may not stay private forever. 

As user Matt Landsman posted, “The funniest possible thing (X) could do is make likes private and let everyone like a bunch of totally reprehensible stuff, then make them public again a year later.”