Elon Musk's X shakes up social media: Likes to go private to protect users

Elon Musk, the owner of the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, confirmed on Tuesday a significant change: X will automatically hide users’ likes. 

Musk emphasized the importance of creating a safer environment online, stating, “It’s important to allow people to like posts without getting attacked for doing so.”

The decision, slated to take effect as soon as Tuesday, follows an announcement by X's director of engineering, Haofei Wang, who expressed concerns about the negative impact of public likes. Wang highlighted how public likes often incentivize the wrong behavior and discourage users from engaging with potentially controversial content.

Senior Software Engineer Enrique Barragan clarified that while users will still be able to see who liked their posts and like counts, they won't have access to others' liked tabs or see the individuals who liked another user's post.

This move echoes Musk's previous initiatives, such as allowing paid users to hide their likes as an incentive. 

Since acquiring the platform in October 2022, Musk has implemented several changes to foster a more user-friendly experience, including removing—and later reinstating—headlines from news articles, renaming the platform to X, and introducing a premium plan for enhanced customization options.

Additionally, X recently adjusted its policy to permit consensually produced adult pornographic content, marking a significant shift in its content guidelines. 

These updates underscore Musk's ongoing efforts to reshape X into the "everything app" he envisions and to address concerns about user safety and engagement.