Instagram users in New Zealand and Australia will no longer be able to see how many 'likes' a post has a received under trial changes to "remove pressure" on the digital platform's users. Instagram will today begin rolling out the trial update removing the total number of likes on photos and viewings of videos on user feeds and profiles, and permalink pages. Users will still be able to see a list of likes on their posts, just not the overall number. The trial update expands on a similar change introduced in Canada in May and will be extended to New Zealand, Japan, Ireland, Italy and Brazil. Facebook Australia and New Zealand director of policy Mia Garlick said Instagram should be a place where people feel comfortable expressing themselves, rather than judged.

Source: Otago Daily Times July 17, 2019 21:00 UTC