It looks like Instagram could be getting rid of likes. Well, at least hide them.

They are reportedly testing out a new feature that keeps likes hidden from the audience but still allows the Instagram user to see them.

What does this mean?

It means Instagram is trying to figure out a way to battle users buying likes and being scammed into buying likes.

Facebook has also experimented with a similar feature.

Likes are what many call a vanity metric. They make you feel good but they don’t necessarily translate into audience growth or sales, especially when people are out there buying them. Fake likes do absolutely nothing meaningful for your social media presence.

The preoccupation of likes and the misinformation passed around about them from third parties trying to sell likes has led to a rise of many fake accounts, which is a challenge for any social media platform.

In an effort to discourage these third parties from being able to sell likes, Facebook, and now Instagram, might do away with likes being visible to the public altogether.

Then the focus would be more so on reach and impressions, which it should be anyway because those numbers help you grow your audience and ultimately get more sales.