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Elon Musk: X hides likes to prevent people from being ‘attacked’ online

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Elon Musk has spoken about the motives behind the new feature to hide likes on X. (Getty)

X hides likes to prevent people from being “attacked” for their online activities, Elon Musk said.

The social media platform began hiding all users’ likes on June 12. The development team explained that this measure would “better protect your privacy.”

This follows a series of changes to the app following Musk’s acquisition of the site, including a renaming of Twitter to “X.”

In response to the like-hiding feature, former X CEO Musk – who has since taken on the role of chairman and chief technology officer, according to CNN – said: “It’s important to allow people to like posts without being attacked for it!”

Those on X also received a pop-up notification that read: “Your likes are now private. We’re making likes private for everyone to better protect your privacy.”

“When you like more posts, your For You feed gets better.”

Users will still be able to see their own likes, but not others, ending the feature that many had been using to see other users’ actions.

The number of likes and other metrics about a user’s own posts will still be displayed under the Notifications tab, and it will still show how many likes the posts have. However, a list of people who liked the post will only be shown to the author.

Recently, the app announced that adult content is now allowed on the site, which has left users wondering what restrictions were in place before.

The update states that as of May 2024, the site believes that “users should be able to create, distribute and consume material with sexual themes as long as it is mutually consensual.”

The statement continues: “Sexual expression, whether visual or written, can be a legitimate form of artistic expression. We believe in the autonomy of adults to engage with and create content that reflects their own beliefs, desires and experiences, including those related to sexuality.

“We balance this freedom by limiting access to adult content for children or adult users who choose not to view it,” says the page, which can be read in full here.

While the official changeover has been a long time coming, users are now wondering what exactly has changed.

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