Yes. Instagram likes still matter to the ranking system and to anyone who can open your Insights, which includes any brand that asks for a screenshot before paying you. Hiding the count changes what a casual viewer sees under the post. The like itself is still recorded and still used.
Updated October 2026. I handle likes orders at ExpressFollowers, and the hidden count question comes up in support often, usually phrased as "what's the point if nobody can see them".
What did the 2021 hide likes option change?
In 2021 Instagram added a setting that hides the public like count on your posts, and a second one that hides counts on the posts you scroll past. Krumzi's 2026 guide places the switch under Settings, then Privacy, then Posts. Sotrender described the effect in January 2021: your followers see that other people they follow liked the post, and no number.
Underneath, nothing moved. You still see the exact count on your own post and in Insights, the built in analytics on a professional account. Instagram's own line when it first announced hidden likes, tweeted and quoted by Social Stamina in November 2020, was that it wanted people to focus on the photos and videos rather than on how many likes they get.
Does hiding likes affect engagement or reach?
Hiding the number does not change how Instagram distributes the post. Krumzi's guide says it directly: hidden likes don't affect distribution, and likes still count when they're not displayed.
What can shift is human behavior. Take the number away and each viewer decides on the content alone, which is what Instagram said it wanted. With the number on, a big count probably makes a stranger more likely to tap the heart. I haven't seen anyone measure the size of that effect.
Where likes still plug into ranking
Adam Mosseri has named watch time, likes and sends as the three key signals, per OnlySocial's summary of his statements. Pete Gibbons broke it down further in a March 2025 LinkedIn post: connected reach, meaning your own followers, favors likes per reach, while unconnected reach, meaning Explore and suggested posts, favors sends per reach. That split matters if you ever buy likes. A purchased batch lands as likes per reach on the connected side, the part of distribution that goes to people who already follow you.
What changed when Instagram made views the headline metric?
In August 2024 Instagram announced that views were the primary metric for all content, according to The Tab's January 2026 report, which cites Instagram's own @creators account. Four months earlier, in April 2024, Instagram had started showing every eligible post to a small audience it thought would enjoy it, whether or not they followed the account, per the same report. In July 2024 Mosseri named shares per reach as a top ranking signal, per Daily Dot.
So in one year Instagram changed three things and none of them favored the like. Views count a passive scroll and shares reward posts that travel past the follower list, so likes sit between the two, an active reaction that costs one tap. Daily Dot's piece on the "like recession" quotes a social media manager saying 100 likes is the new 1000, and a TikToker with over 1,000 views and only 34 likes. Krumzi adds that engagement dropped across the whole platform in 2025.
The timeline in one place
| When | What Instagram changed | What it means for likes |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Option to hide public like counts (Krumzi) | Number hidden from viewers, still visible to you and still counted |
| April 2024 | Every eligible post shown to a small test audience first (The Tab) | Early likes from that group help a post travel |
| July 2024 | Mosseri names shares per reach as a top ranking signal (Daily Dot) | Shares outrank likes for reaching strangers |
| August 2024 | Views announced as the primary metric (The Tab) | Views become the headline number, likes a supporting one |
Who can still see your likes when the count is hidden?
You can, always. The number sits on the post when you open it and in Insights on a professional account, next to reach and saves. Anyone you send a screenshot to sees it too, and a screenshot of Insights is what a brand asks for first. Audit tools are the second route. HypeAuditor publishes a free likes to followers checker and says on the page it built it for brands and agencies.
The check goes further than the count. Brands compare likes against reach and against comments. Westloopsoul's 2019 spotter's guide uses the example of a post with 12K+ likes and only 4 comments. A hidden count keeps that pattern off the feed, and only off the feed.
When should you hide like counts on your own posts?
Hide them when the numbers would count against you. That's the rule I give customers, and it turns on account size and consistency. If the account is small and the like counts swing from post to post, hide them. A PAUSE magazine piece says likes on an 80 follower account look mismatched at any number, and that matches what I see, since a few hundred likes on an account that size gets read as bought. Under 1,000 followers the ratio jumps around anyway. HypeAuditor's checker page says 1,000 followers should produce 10 to 30 likes per post, so a single 10 like swing moves you a full percentage point. A new account with one post at 300 and the next at 12 reads badly with counts on, so keep them off until the posts level out.
When to show the count
If your last ten posts sit in one band and you're about to pitch brands, show the count. The Social Cat's glossary says to judge the ratio over at least 10 posts, which is where the ten comes from. CreatorFlow's calculator grades 3 to 6 percent as good and 1 to 3 percent as average, while HypeAuditor's page calls 1 to 3 percent good, so the two scales disagree on the middle. Anything above 3 percent reads well on either scale.
Where do bought likes fit when counts are hidden?
Bought likes do two jobs, and hiding the count removes neither. The first is early engagement. Likes that land soon after posting feed the likes per reach signal that decides how much of your own audience sees the post. The second is proof for the people who check, which hiding the count does not touch. Most of the hidden count questions I get at support come from people who want the first job and have stopped caring about the public number.
How ExpressFollowers delivers when counts are hidden
Delivery starts within minutes of ordering and the likes arrive gradually. You give us the post link or username. We never ask for a password. One order can be split across several posts, and that is the sensible way to use it when your counts are hidden: a modest number on each new post so recent posts sit in the same band. For an account near 1,000 followers that means keeping each post inside HypeAuditor's 10 to 30 likes. A 100 like pack split across four or five posts lands at 20 to 25 each and stays inside. Put 1,000 on a single post and that band is gone.
What it costs and what the refill covers
100 likes cost $1.45 and 1,000 cost $6.99, and there's a 10 like pack at $1.05 if you want to watch one order land before committing. Every likes order carries a 30 day refill. If a post loses likes inside that window, send the post link and order number to support and the replacements are delivered gradually within the 30 day window. You can buy Instagram likes for a single post or spread them across several, and the count stays hidden or shown as you've set it.
Bought engagement sits outside Instagram's rules on artificial engagement, and accounts get penalized for bot activity, so the source of the likes and the pace they arrive at are what keep an order quiet. We've delivered from real accounts since 2016 and hold a 4.9 rating from 1,080 reviews on the likes page. Nobody can promise an outcome here, us included.
What to do on Reels
For Reels, views are the headline number now. A Reel with a healthy like count and a thin view count reads wrong in Insights and to a brand. If you're adding likes to a Reel, pair them with Reel views so the two numbers move together.
A refill only matters if the number matters, which brings up the question people ask most often now. The refill mechanics are in What a Refill Guarantee on Instagram Likes Covers.
Likes still matter. What changed is who sees them. You see them in Insights and Instagram uses them to decide how many of your followers get the post. A brand that is about to pay you asks for the number anyway. Hide the count if it works against you and show it if it works for you.
Frequently Asked Questions
Lead author and editor at ExpressFollowers. Holds an MBF from Imperial College London with a focus on marketing strategy. Writes about social media growth, platform algorithms, and digital marketing, drawing on nearly a decade of hands-on industry work.
