X is hiding likes to encourage ‘edgy’ engagement

In yet another big change, X, the social platform formerly known as Twitter, is eliminating the ability to see which posts other users have liked. It’s a change the company’s engineering director, Haofei Wang, says aims to protect users’ public image – because “many people feel discouraged” from liking “edgy” content. MacRumors first reported The change comes after a flag was discovered in the iOS app that removes the Likes tab on all user profiles.

“Soon you’ll be able to enjoy it without worrying about who might see it,” says Wang. It was initially unclear whether this would affect seeing who liked your own posts, but X senior software engineer Enrique Barragan joined the conversation to clarify:

– you will be able to see who liked your posts
– you can see like count for all posts/replies/etc.
– you can’t see people who liked someone else’s post
– you cannot see other people’s “Like” tab on their profiles

The decision to make these changes comes after many prominent users were criticized for liking various forms of NSFW or objectionable content. For example, the official accounts of Texas Senator Ted Cruz and Chinese Ambassador to the United Kingdom Liu Xiaoming liked pornographic content, while X Corp. CEO Elon Musk was found to have liked pornographic content. like transphobic posts.