The social media platform previously recognized as Twitter has introduced a significant update to its privacy settings, particularly concerning the visibility of users’ “likes.” This move comes after several instances where politicians and public figures were embroiled in controversies due to their engagement with provocative and controversial content on the platform.
In an effort to protect user privacy and prevent potential backlash, the platform’s chief, Elon Musk, has announced that “likes” will now be mostly private, allowing users to express their preferences on posts without fear of public scrutiny.
This change is aimed at fostering a safer environment where users can freely like content without the concern of being criticized for their choices. The option to conceal the likes tab was initially rolled out as an exclusive feature for subscribers of the platform’s premium service last year.
The company, in its announcement of the feature, encouraged users to “keep spicy likes private,” highlighting the platform’s shift towards more personalized and discreet user experiences. This update reflects the company’s ongoing efforts to adapt to user feedback and enhance the overall functionality of the social media service.
X’s Engineering team has recently announced via tweet that the social network is implementing a new privacy feature that will make “likes” private across the platform for all users starting this week. With this update, individuals will no longer have the ability to see who has liked someone else’s post.
This change is designed to prevent public relations issues for public figures and other users who might face backlash for liking posts that are sexual, hateful, or otherwise deemed inappropriate by the public.
While users will lose the ability to see who has liked other people’s posts, they will still retain the ability to see who has liked their own posts. They will also continue to have access to the like count and other analytics related to their content.
This shift in privacy settings effectively eliminates one of the incentives for subscribing to the platform’s premium service, which previously offered the option to hide likes as a subscriber-only feature. The decision to make likes private for all users comes at a time when the company has experienced a significant decline in advertising revenue. In response to its financial challenges, the platform introduced two new subscription tiers.
The higher-tier subscription, Premium+, is priced at $16 per month and offers an ad-free experience. Meanwhile, the lower-tier subscription is available for $3 per month and does not include the platform’s blue checkmark verification badge. These subscription options are part of the company’s strategy to diversify its revenue streams and address its economic difficulties.
