NOT A NUMBERS GAME

Facebook Tests Hiding Likes on Posts

The test will begin Sept. 27 in Australia.

Facebook is testing hidden “Like” counts on posts starting Sept. 27 in Australia, TechCrunch reports. The author of a post will still be able to see how many people have given their content the blue thumbs up, but to viewers the metrics will appear as “John Doe and others,” as opposed to “John Doe and 3 others.” The number of comments will still appear, according to screenshots of the test. Instagram, a subsidiary of Facebook, has started testing hiding a post’s number of Likes, a trial that’s expanded to seven countries since April. Facebook told TechCrunch it has not determined whether or when hidden Like counts on its flagship social network will roll out to everyone.