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Facebook wants to remove the display of the number of "like" from its pages. LOIC VENANCE / AFP

Would social networks be a better world without the famous "like" button? This is what Facebook wants to know, not without economic considerations. The Californian firm indeed plans to hide the counting of the number of "likes" obtained on each publication. For several months, tests are already conducted on Instagram, and their results would be conclusive.

from our correspondent in San Francisco,

This thumb " I like " or " like " is ubiquitous today, it almost became an automatism. Its appearance, ten years ago, completely upset the uses of the social web. So, why is Facebook trying to backtrack by eliminating the " like " number of our publications? Simply because, since its appearance in 2009, this little button " like " is synonymous with race between users: whoever gets the most thumbs up on each of his publications.

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Today, as its audience is falling in developed countries, Facebook realizes that this narcissistic competition between subscribers has become negative for its business model. And for a simple reason, the " like " race is synonymous with frustration and jealousy among those who get less " likes ", and who compare themselves to others who get more.

An experiment conducted on Instagram

This jealousy generates a reflex of self-censorship, and this is the fear of Facebook. Because some subscribers post fewer publications for fear of not being sufficiently liked or even delete their posts that do not get enough " like ". This self-censorship is less traffic, and less traffic means less advertising revenue for Facebook, whose business model relies entirely on targeted advertising. Hence the idea to hide the number of " likes " obtained without this figure less pressure for users who can post their content more freely.

Facebook has already begun to hide the " like " counter on Instagram, an experiment conducted since April in seven different countries and that could soon be widespread. Facebook did not release the results of these tests, which are still in progress. Tests first conducted in secret before being revealed by specialized bloggers. The Californian firm then confirmed to the Tech Crunch site that these experiments began in Canada in April.

No official announcement

These experiments were later extended to Ireland, Italy, Japan, Brazil, Australia and New Zealand. The principle is simple: the number of " like " no longer appears in public publications, but it does not disappear completely so far. " Like " are only hidden, only the author of the post can see them. His contacts, they, simply see the " like " of mutual friends without their number.

For the moment, there has been no official Facebook announcement but according to the specialized blogger, Jane Wong , an engineer known for her many revelations in the field, these tests are now conducted also on the Android version of Facebook. All this in the long-term perspective of gradually eliminating this famous " like " counter of the social network.