X, formerly Twitter, hides likes from users; understand new change

O Xformerly Twitter, made a change to the platform so that likes become private. Until the change, which came into effect on Tuesday (11), whenever a user liked a publication, the action was visible in a tab on the profile — this information is no longer available to third parties.

The update occurred after Elon Musk, owner of the social network, confirm the change in a publication on the platform. “It’s important to allow people to like posts without being attacked for doing so,” wrote the billionaire.

The change had been planned since the end of May, when Haofei Wangdirector of engineering at X, confirmed the speculation, also through a publication on the platform.

“Yes, we are making likes private. Public likes encourage bad behavior. For example, many people feel discouraged from liking content that may be ‘edgy’ for fear of retaliation from trolls. [usuários fakes que disseminam o ódio] or to protect its public image,” he declared.

Also according to Wang, the more a user likes the posts they are interested in, the better the platform’s algorithm will be.

Important to allow people to like posts without getting attacked for doing so! https://t.co/3O1bG7wIGe

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 11, 2024

Yeah, we are making private likes.

Public likes are encouraging 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.

Soon you’ll be able to like without… https://t.co/vPGllc4pB0

— Haofei (@wanghaofei) May 22, 2024