One of the visually core features of Instagram is the like button and since it is expressed in numbers, more likes seems like more people appreciate the post. However, Instagram has had an idiosyncratic feature in its like button feature where posts that have less than 11 likes, the individual people are displayed right below the photo. Once a person likes the photo and it hits the 11 likes mark, it is displayed as a number. Well, this will change as shown by this sighting:
https://twitter.com/mekosoff/status/700398862637338625?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
According to this screenshot, it seems like Instagram is testing a feature where it won’t matter if you get less than 11 likes for the like count to show a number. It looks like Instagram is testing the feature to a select few users and the company actually confirmed the test to Mashable where a spokesperson confirmed the new feature. It was also reported that some users on Twitter observed that the likes switched over to a number after the first three likes. However, the spokesperson did not indicate when the feature will be rolled out to all users.
This comes at a time where Instagram has been pegged to launch view counters for videos and the roll-out of 2 factor authentication for added security. In the case of view counters, the likes a video gets will be seen by tapping on the view counter which is seen as a case of saving that real estate after the like, comment and share buttons. Instagram is changing for the better and it will make the 400 million users more engaged on the platform.