Instagram lets you hide like counts in two independent ways: you can hide the like count on your own posts so no one else sees the number, and you can hide the like counts on everyone else's posts so your own feed stops showing them. These are separate settings with separate effects. You control your own posts both globally and per individual post; you control what you see on others' posts with one toggle. Below is the exact path for each, the difference between the per-post and global options, and the honest reasons people turn likes off in the first place.

Two Different Things Called "Hiding Likes"

Before the steps, get the distinction straight, because it trips people up constantly:

Hiding likes on your own posts affects what other people see. When on, viewers see "liked by [username] and others" instead of a hard number. You still see your own count.
Hiding likes on other people's posts affects what you see in your feed. When on, you no longer see like counts on anyone's posts as you scroll. It does nothing to what others see.

You can use either, both, or neither. They do not depend on each other.

How to Hide Likes on Your Own Posts (Global)

This sets the default for everything you post going forward.

Open Settings and privacy.
Tap What you see → Like and share counts (in current builds this sits under the content-preferences area; older builds label it "Posts").
Toggle Hide like and view counts on.

With this enabled, the like number is hidden from other people on all your posts by default. They will see that people liked it, but not how many.

How to Hide Likes on a Single Post (Per-Post)

You do not have to go global. You can hide — or show — the count on one post at a time, which overrides the default for that post:

Before posting: on the final share screen, tap Advanced settings and turn on Hide like and view counts on this post.
After posting: open the post, tap the three-dot menu in the top corner, and choose Hide like count. You can reverse it later from the same menu with Unhide like count.

This per-post control is the reason the feature is flexible: keep counts visible on the posts you are proud of, hide them on the ones where the number would distract or invite comparison.

How to Hide Likes on Other People's Posts

This is the one toggle that cleans up your own feed:

Open Settings and privacy.
Go to What you see → Like and share counts.
Turn on Hide like and view counts on posts from others.

Now every post in your feed appears without a like number. Nobody is notified, and it changes nothing for the people who posted — it is purely about your own viewing experience. This is the setting people reach for when constant like-count comparison starts affecting how they feel scrolling.

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Per-Post vs Global vs Others': Quick Comparison

Setting	Who it affects	Scope	Where to set it
Hide likes on your posts (global)	What others see on all your posts	All future posts, default	Settings → Like and share counts
Hide likes on a single post	What others see on that one post	One post only	Post's three-dot menu / Advanced settings
Hide likes on others' posts	What you see in your feed	Every post you view	Settings → Like and share counts

The mental model: the first two control your audience's view of your numbers; the third controls your view of everyone's numbers.

Why People Hide Likes

The reasons are mostly healthy, and worth naming:

Reducing comparison. Hiding counts on others' posts stops the reflexive "they got more likes than me" loop that drives a lot of social-media anxiety.
Taking pressure off your own posts. Without a public number, there is less incentive to delete a post that "underperformed," and less performance pressure overall.
Focusing on content, not metrics. Creators sometimes hide counts so the work is judged on its own, not on a leaderboard number.
Privacy. Some people simply do not want others gauging their reach or popularity from the outside.

Hiding likes is one slice of a wider privacy posture. The order in which your remaining visible likers appear, and what that order signals, is its own topic — see the Instagram likes order explained. And if you are tuning likes as part of a broader effort to control your footprint, the rest of the relevant controls — who sees your stories, who can message you, who can tag you — live in our guide to Instagram story privacy settings.

What Hiding Likes Does Not Do

It helps to be precise about the limits, because people assume hiding likes does more than it does:

It does not hide who liked the post. The list of likers is still accessible — anyone can open a post and tap to see the names. Hiding the count only removes the number, not the identities. If you want to understand how that liker list is ordered when it is visible, see the Instagram likes order explained.
It does not hide your own analytics. If you have a professional or creator account, your insights still show full like and engagement figures. Hiding counts is a public-facing cosmetic change, not a data blackout for yourself.
It does not affect comments, shares, or views uniformly. The setting bundles like and view counts, but comments remain visible. If your goal is broader quiet, you will need separate controls.
It is not a privacy wall. Hiding counts reduces comparison; it does not make your engagement private in any meaningful security sense. Anyone determined can still tally likers manually.

Treat it for what it is: a comparison-reducing, pressure-lowering toggle, not a privacy lockdown.

Pairing Likes Settings With Broader Privacy

Hiding like counts tends to be step one for people who want a calmer, less exposed presence on Instagram. The natural companions are tightening who can see your stories, who can tag and mention you, and who can send you messages. All of those live in one place — our walkthrough of Instagram story privacy settings covers the full panel. Configuring likes in isolation leaves the louder signals untouched, so if comparison and exposure are the real concern, do the whole sweep at once.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I hide likes on just one Instagram post?

Yes. Open the post, tap the three-dot menu, and choose "Hide like count" — or set it before publishing under Advanced settings. This overrides your global default for that single post, and you can unhide it later from the same menu.

Does hiding likes hide them for me too?

No. When you hide the count on your own posts, you still see your own number — only other people see "liked by [username] and others." Hiding likes on others' posts removes counts from your feed but does not affect what anyone else sees.

Will people know I hid my like count?

No. There is no notification. Viewers simply see "liked by [username] and others" instead of a number, with no indication you toggled anything.

Does hiding likes on others' posts change what they see?

No. That setting only affects your own feed view. The people who posted still see their full like counts, and so does everyone who has the setting off.

Can I hide likes on reels and videos too?

Yes. The same "Hide like and view counts" controls apply to reels and video posts, both globally and per individual post through the post's menu.

Final Thoughts

Hiding likes on Instagram comes down to two settings — one for your own posts (global plus a per-post override) and one for what you see on everyone else's. Nobody is notified, and you can mix and match freely. It is a small, healthy lever for cutting comparison and performance pressure. If you are turning these toggles as part of a bigger goal of moving through Instagram with less of a trace, the same instinct applies to watching stories: viewing while logged in always lands your name in the poster's viewer list. To watch without leaving that mark, view anonymously with ViewIGStory.