When you like someone’s post or comment on social media, it typically sends them a notification letting them know you liked their content. But what happens to that notification if you later unlike or un-heart their post? Does the notification disappear or does it remain in their notifications tab? Let’s take a look at how this works on some major social platforms.
On Facebook, if you unlike a post or comment, the notification you previously sent to the user goes away. They will no longer see the “Your name liked their post” notification in their notifications tab. The moment you click that “Unlike” button, that notification gets retracted.
This applies to all likes and reactions on Facebook – not just posts and comments, but also photos, videos, and other content types. No matter what you previously liked, the second you unlike it, that notification gets deleted. It’s as if you never liked it at all.
Example
Let’s look at an example to illustrate this:
- On Monday, you like your friend’s new profile picture on Facebook.
- This sends them a notification saying “Your name liked your photo.”
- On Tuesday, you change your mind and unlike your friend’s profile picture.
- The notification you previously sent them saying you liked their photo immediately disappears. They no longer see it in their notifications.
So on Facebook, unlike notifications, once gone they’re gone for good.
The situation is slightly different on Twitter. If you like a tweet and then unlike it, the notification you sent the user does not disappear. They will still see the “Your name liked your tweet” notification in their notifications tab, even after you un-heart their tweet.
Twitter keeps that notification there for the record, even if you later change your mind about liking the tweet. The only way for that notification to go away is for the user to manually clear it out of their notifications tab.
Example
For example:
- On Monday, you like someone’s tweet.
- They receive a notification of your like.
- On Tuesday, you unlike that tweet, removing your heart.
- The notification remains in their notifications feed.
- The only way it will disappear is if they manually clear their notifications tab.
So on Twitter, unlike notifications stick around unless the user actively removes them.
Instagram works similarly to Facebook when it comes to like notifications. If you like an Instagram post and later unlike it, the notification you sent the user disappears. Poof – gone forever, like it was never there.
This applies to all Instagram content, including photos, videos, reels, stories, and IGTV videos. If you ever change your mind and unlike something, your gesture and notification vanish.
Example
Here’s an example of how it works on Instagram:
- On Monday, you like someone’s Instagram photo.
- They receive a notification saying “Your name liked your photo.”
- On Tuesday, you unlike the photo, removing your heart.
- The notification immediately disappears from their notifications feed.
So Instagram mimics Facebook and the moment you unlike something, your notification disappears too.
YouTube
YouTube also follows the Facebook model for like notifications. If you like a YouTube video and that video’s creator has notifications turned on, they will receive an alert saying “Your name liked your video”. However, if you later change your mind and unlike the video, that notification goes away.
The creator will no longer see the notification in their notifications feed once you’ve unliked the video. The notification vanishes entirely.
Example
For instance:
- On Monday, you like a YouTube video.
- The video creator receives a notification of your like.
- On Tuesday you unlike the video, removing your thumbs up.
- The notification disappears from the creator’s notification feed.
So on YouTube, creators are only notified of current likes – once you unlike a video, the notification goes away.
On Reddit, the situation is slightly more complicated when it comes to like notifications. When you upvote a Reddit post or comment, the user receives an alert in their inbox letting them know you upvoted their content. If you later remove your upvote, here is what happens:
- The notification does disappear from their inbox like other platforms.
- However, it may still show up in their achievements tab as an “upvoted” achievement.
- There seems to be some delay in the achievements tab reflecting changes made in upvotes.
- So the notification can disappear from the inbox but briefly remain in the achievements section.
In most cases, once you remove your upvote, the notification does go away reasonably quickly. But it can sometimes take a little extra time to get removed from all areas.
Example
For example:
- On Monday, you upvote a Reddit post.
- The user receives an upvote notification.
- On Tuesday, you remove your upvote.
- The notification disappears from the user’s inbox.
- But it may still briefly show in their “upvoted” achievements.
- After some time, it disappears from there too.
So Reddit works similarly to other platforms, but there can be a slight delay before the notification vanishes completely.
On LinkedIn, when you like or react to someone’s post or comment, they receive a notification. If you later decide to remove your like/reaction, that notification is removed as well.
As soon as you undo your like/reaction, the notification disappears from the user’s notifications feed instantly. Poof, no more notification.
Example
For instance:
- On Monday, you like a LinkedIn post.
- The post creator gets a notification of your like.
- On Tuesday, you remove your like.
- That notification now vanishes from their notifications feed.
LinkedIn notifications work similarly to Facebook and Instagram, removing notifications when you undo a like/reaction.
Pinterest has a slightly different mechanism for like notifications compared to other platforms. When you like or react to a Pin, the pinner does not receive a notification by default. They have to actively turn on notifications for likes/reactions.
If they do have notifications turned on and you later unlike that Pin, here is what happens:
- The notification does disappear from their notifications feed.
- However, your name still shows up in the list of people who have liked/reacted to that Pin.
So the notification goes away, but your gesture remains visible. You essentially have to unlike and then re-like a Pin to remove your name completely.
Example
For example:
- On Monday, you like a Pin.
- The pinner has notifications on and gets an alert.
- On Tuesday, you unlike the Pin.
- The notification disappears from their feed.
- But your name remains on the Pin’s list of likers.
So on Pinterest, unlike notifications disappear but your original gesture may still show up.
Snapchat
Snapchat does not have a traditional liking system for content and stories. However, you can react to stories by tapping on the emoji icon and sending an emoji reaction. If you send a reaction and later undo it, here’s what happens:
- The notification disappears entirely for text/emoji reactions.
- For visual filters (like the rainbow puke), the filter remains but there’s no notification.
So removing a reaction makes notifications disappear, but visual filters themselves persist on Snapchat stories.
Example
For instance:
- On Monday, you react to a story with the heart eyes emoji.
- The user gets a notification of your reaction.
- On Tuesday you remove your reaction.
- The notification disappears.
So Snapchat removes notifications when you undo reactions to stories.
TikTok
On TikTok, you can like videos, follow accounts, comment on videos, and send gifts. When you interact with someone in these ways, they receive a notification by default. If you undo any of these gestures, here’s what happens:
- Likes – The notification disappears when you un-heart a video.
- Follows – Undoing a follow does not remove notifications.
- Comments – Deleting a comment removes its notification.
- Gifts – There is no notification for receiving gifts.
So for likes and comments, notifications are removed when undone. But notifications for follows stay even if you unfollow.
Example
For example:
- On Monday, you like and follow a TikTok account.
- The user receives notifications for both gestures.
- On Tuesday, you unlike the video and unfollow the account.
- The like notification disappears but the follow one remains.
So TikTok removes some notifications when interactions are undone.
Twitch
On Twitch, you can like streams and clips, follow channels, and send bits and subscriptions. When you interact in these ways, the streamer receives a notification. If you undo them, here’s what happens:
- Likes – Notification disappears when undone.
- Follows – Notification remains even if unfollowed.
- Bits/Subscriptions – Can’t be undone, but notifications disappear after a period of time.
So Twitch notifications behave similarly to TikTok’s system for likes and follows. Bits and subs notifications have a timeout period.
Example
For instance:
- On Monday, you follow and cheer bits in a stream.
- The streamer receives notifications for both.
- On Tuesday, you unfollow the channel.
- The bits notification disappears after some time but the follow one stays.
So Twitch removes some notifications when you undo interactions, but not all.
Summary
In summary, here’s what happens to notifications when you undo likes/interactions on major platforms:
| Platform | Notification Behavior |
|---|---|
| Disappears immediately | |
| Remains unless user deletes it | |
| Disappears immediately | |
| YouTube | Disappears immediately |
| Disappears but may briefly remain in achievements | |
| Disappears immediately | |
| Disappears but name may still show | |
| Snapchat | Disappears immediately |
| TikTok | Mixed – some disappear, some remain |
| Twitch | Mixed – similar to TikTok |
The majority of platforms remove notifications immediately after a like/interaction is undone. Twitter and Pinterest keep some remnants of the notification or your name visible until the user deletes it. TikTok and Twitch only remove some types of notifications when undone.
Conclusion
In most cases, undoing a like or interaction on social media will cause the associated notification to disappear. However, a few platforms may keep remnants of older notifications or your name/gesture visible until the user actively clears them out. So if you change your mind and unlike something, there’s a very good chance the notification will vanish, but not a 100% guarantee on all platforms.