After testing in 7 countries, Instagram is hiding 'likes' globally. The test began in May 2019 with Canada and in the month of July, Instagram started hiding "likes" on its platform in Australia, Brazil and several other major markets citing the reason that it wanted to ease pressure on users, following criticism about its impacts on mental health.

On Thursday, Instagram announced it is now expanding its months-long test to hide like counts to the rest of the world, inching the company closer to formally rolling out a core change to the way users engage with the photo-sharing service.

The Facebook-owned social media giant's changes mean users will no longer be able to see the number of likes other people's posts receive.

Vishal Shah, Vice President of Product, Instagram, said that if you’re in the test, you’ll no longer see the total number of likes and views on photos and videos posted to Feed unless they’re your own. “While the feedback from early testing has been positive, this is a fundamental change to Instagram, so we’re continuing our test to learn more from our global community,” Shah said in a statement as reported by BGR India. 

Instagram, which has more than one billion users worldwide, is a platform that allows users to post images and videos that others can then like or comment on.

Social media giants have faced increased scrutiny over the impact their platforms can have on users, and there is some research to suggest Instagram can negatively affect the mental health of young people who use it.

Instagram in the past has said the measures to conceal likes would not affect measurement tools used by businesses that use the platform to promote their products.