X Makes Likes Private

X has rolled out a site update that makes user likes private.

This means other users won’t be able to see who “liked” a particular post, although users themselves can still see their own liked content and who liked their posts.

The news became public through a post by Elon Musk on Wednesday morning, coinciding with the update’s release.

He quoted an explanation from X’s engineering account posted on Tuesday, stating, “Important change: your likes are now private.”

Previously, a user profile section displayed liked posts. This section has now disappeared for most users.

Haofei Wang, X’s Director of Engineering, had hinted at this update in a May 21st post. He argued that public likes “incentivize the wrong behavior.” People hesitate to like “edgy” content for fear of backlash or damaging their online image.

By making likes private, X hopes users will feel more comfortable engaging with content they find interesting, ultimately improving the platform’s recommendation algorithms.

This update aligns with a series of policy changes Musk has implemented since acquiring X in 2022, all focused on user privacy.