The proposed change by X, formerly known as Twitter, to make likes private on the social network has sparked a debate among users. While the company claims that this change will incentivize engagement and protect users’ public image, there are concerns about its effectiveness and potential confusion.
One of the main issues with this change is that X already has a private way to save posts on the platform: bookmarks. Bookmarks serve as a more private alternative to the “like” feature and are intended for collecting posts or threads that users want to refer back to or read later. Therefore, it seems unnecessary to hide likes when a private option already exists.
Furthermore, the private “like” is not entirely private. Users will still be able to see who liked their posts and the like count for all their posts and replies. This semi-private nature may discourage users from liking certain content, especially if it is considered “edgy” or controversial. Instead, they may continue to use bookmarks or external link-saving tools to save liked posts they don’t want to risk exposing.
Additionally, the change will prevent users from seeing the likes associated with other people’s posts or browsing someone’s likes through a tab on their profile. While this could eliminate snooping, it also removes a useful discovery feature. For example, users often browse the likes of others they follow to discover new and interesting content or evaluate whether they want to follow someone based on their likes.
The root of the problem lies in the shift from a star icon to a heart icon for likes. The previous star icon represented a “favorite” rather than a signal of support. Users could favorite anything without implying that they actually enjoyed or agreed with the content. This change to hearts caused outrage among users, as it changed the meaning of the feature and impacted how they used the platform.
Former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey even expressed his agreement with this sentiment, stating that the heart icon should have never replaced the star icon. Many users agree with this viewpoint, suggesting that a simple shift back to stars would accomplish the goal of providing more signals for X’s algorithm without the need to hide likes.
In conclusion, the proposed change to make likes private on X has generated mixed reactions among users. While the intention behind the change is to incentivize engagement and protect users’ public image, there are concerns about its effectiveness and potential confusion. Users already have a private option in the form of bookmarks, and the semi-private nature of the private “like” may still discourage users from engaging with certain content. Considering alternatives, such as reverting back to stars, could achieve the same goal without drastic changes.