Elon Musk’s X is officially making likes private

Another change no one asked for.

Credit: Dan Kitwood / Getty Images.

X, formerly Twitter, will officially start hiding public “likes” on posts, as soon as today.

The news comes from a source at the company, as reported by the Verge. A few weeks ago, reports emerged that the change (that no one asked for) would be implemented soon.

X’s director of engineering Haofei Wang confirmed the news on X back then, saying in a post, “Public likes are incentivizing the wrong behavior. For example, many people feel discouraged from liking content that might be ‘edgy’ in fear of retaliation from trolls, or to protect their public image.”

Mashable Light Speed

“Soon you’ll be able to like without worrying who might see it,” wrote Wang.

Elon Musk, X’s owner for the past two years, shared the news on his platform today too, writing, “Important to allow people to like posts without getting attacked for doing so!”

Tweet may have been deleted

In place of public likes, private likes will be an option, which is already available to X’s Premium subscribers. For the rest, the number of likes on a post will still be visible and users will also still be able to see who has liked their posts.

Meera is a Culture Reporter at Mashable, joining the UK team in 2021. She writes about digital culture, mental health, big tech, entertainment, and more. Her work has also been published in The New York Times, Vice, Vogue India, and others.

This newsletter may contain advertising, deals, or affiliate links. Subscribing to a newsletter indicates your consent to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You may unsubscribe from the newsletters at any time.