When you like a post on Facebook, that activity is visible to the person who created the post and potentially others depending on the post’s privacy settings. However, there are a few scenarios where a like you make may be hidden from view.
The Post Author Has Restricted Who Can See Likes
One of the most common reasons a like would be hidden on Facebook is because the author of the post has utilized a setting to restrict who can see likes and reactions. On Facebook, post authors have the option to limit the audience for the list of people who have liked or reacted to a post. They can choose from options like only the original poster can see the likes, friends except acquaintances, friends, or public (default). If the post author has selected an option other than public, your like may be hidden.
Example Privacy Settings
| Setting | Who Can See Likes |
|---|---|
| Only Me | Only the post author |
| Friends Except Acquaintances | Friends except acquaintances of the post author |
| Friends | Friends of the post author |
| Public | Anyone including people off of Facebook |
As you can see in the table above, any setting other than public will restrict who can see the list of people who have liked the post. So if you like a post that has restrictions on likes visibility, your like may not be seen publicly.
You Have Been Restricted or Blocked by the Post Author
Another potential reason your like may be hidden is if the author of the post has restricted you or blocked you on Facebook. If someone blocks you, you can still see and like their public posts, but your engagement will be hidden. Similarly, if someone has added you to their restricted list, any likes or comments you make on their posts will only be visible to you unless they approve it. So if you have been blocked or restricted by the original poster, your like will automatically be hidden.
The Original Poster Has Deleted the Post
A like can also become hidden if the original post you liked ends up being deleted by the author. When a post is deleted, all likes and comments associated with that post will disappear from view as well. So if you liked a post that was later removed, your like will no longer be visible.
You Have Unliked the Post
Likes are hidden on Facebook if you unlike the post after initially liking it. You can unlike a post by clicking on the like button again. This will remove your like and make it as if you never liked the post in the first place. So if you change your mind and unlike something you previously liked, it will remove the visible indication that you liked it.
It’s a Private Post Visible Only to Certain Connections
If you like a private post that is restricted to a limited audience like family, close friends, a group, or custom list, your like will only be visible to the people who can see the post. For example, if you like a post restricted to a group you are both a member of, people outside of that group will not see that you liked it. Your like or reaction will be hidden from anyone not granted access to the private post.
You Have Hidden Your Like Activity on Your Timeline
Facebook allows you to control the audience for your own like and react activity that appears on your timeline. You can limit your like activity to be visible to only certain people. If you have your like activity restricted, then any likes you make, even on public posts, will be hidden from people who cannot view your activity per your custom settings.
Like Activity Visibility Options
| Setting | Who Can See Your Likes |
|---|---|
| Public | Anyone including people off Facebook |
| Friends Except Acquaintances | Your friends except acquaintances |
| Friends | Only your friends |
| Only Me | Only you |
| Custom | Only people you specify |
So if you restrict your like activity to only be visible to certain people, it will be hidden from anyone not included in your selected audience.
You’ve Hidden Your Entire Friend List
If you’ve utilized the privacy setting to hide your entire friends list on Facebook, that will also hide likes specifically. Likes are considered engagement with friends, so hiding your list of friends will hide all of your likes and reactions to posts by default at a blanket level.
It’s a Like for a Page You Manage
Likes and reactions you make from a Facebook page you manage as an admin will be hidden by default. Page admins can see insights into how many people have liked and reacted to their page’s posts, but the specific names and profiles are anonymized for privacy reasons. So any likes on your page’s posts from your admin account will be visible in aggregate only, not tied to your personal profile.
You Don’t Have Permission to See the Likes
On Facebook, there are certain content types like public figures, groups, and pages that allow limiting the audience who can view likes. For public figure posts, only the original poster and the audience they shared with can see likes. For groups and pages, admins can limit likes to just admins. If you like any of these types of content but don’t have access to view the likes per the audience settings, your like will be hidden.
It’s a Paid Partnership Post
When brands and businesses pay to promote sponsored posts on Facebook, there are additional controls around hiding engagement. If you like a paid partnership post from a brand, your like may not be visible publicly. Only the brand who created the post will be able to see the list of people who liked it for analytic purposes. So liking sponsored or suggested posts often results in your like being hidden.
You Liked It from a News Feed You Don’t Have Access To
Facebook shows you one version of your news feed, but uses advanced algorithms to show different content to your friends. This means you could like a post from a feed you were shown that a friend might not have access to in their version of the feed. In this case, your like would not show up for them because you are liking content they cannot see. Targeting and personalization of feeds can result in likes on posts that seem public but are not in all versions of the feed.
It’s a Crossposted Video
When someone crossposts a video from Facebook to Instagram or vice versa, the likes do not carry over and are hidden between the platforms. If you like a video natively on Instagram, that like will not show up if it is crossposted to Facebook and vice versa. Crossplatform likes remain siloed and will be hidden on the other social network.
Conclusion
In summary, there are a variety of reasons why likes may be hidden on Facebook. Some of the most common causes include the original poster limiting like visibility for privacy reasons, you being blocked or restricted from seeing certain content, deleting posts you’ve liked, or your own privacy settings hiding your like activity. Page admins also cannot see individual people who like their page’s content. Understanding when likes are hidden can help explain missing engagement that seems like it should be public. With granular privacy controls, Facebook allows personalizing like visibility in many ways.