Hiding your likes on Instagram from a specific person, such as your girlfriend, is not possible as Instagram's privacy settings do not offer that granular control [1]. Instagram's privacy features are designed to be account-wide [1].
You can hide likes in two ways. You can change your account to private and make sure the person isn't following you. You can also like tons of new photos so that the specific post you liked that you want to hide is buried and never shown to anyone. This trick works the same for both iPhone and Android in 2021.
When you like a photo, it's visible to anyone who can see the post... After 4 likes, photos show the number of likes, along with usernames of some people you follow who have liked it. If your account is set to private: Only your approved followers can see your posts, including any likes and comments.
Scroll down to the How others can interact with you section. Tap Messages and calls. Look for Show activity status. Toggle it off.
Is it possible to hide likes permanently? Yes. If you turn on Hide like counts in your Instagram settings, the change stays on until you switch it off. You can keep it hidden as long as you want.
Manage your Activity Status
Menu in the top right. Below How others can interact with you, tap Messages and story replies. Tap Show activity status. Tap Toggle next to Show Activity Status to turn on or off your activity status.
Soft blocking on Instagram is a discreet way to remove someone as a follower by briefly blocking and then unblocking them, forcing them to unfollow you without sending a notification, so they stop seeing your posts in their feed but can still view your profile if they search for it directly. It's a "no-drama" alternative to a full block or unfollow, letting you reset the connection by making your content less visible to them.
Hide the like and share count of posts you see
The restricted person won't see when you're online, and you won't receive notifications for their comments. They also can't tag or mention you or remix your content. in the top right of the feed. Tap the chat with the person you want to restrict.
You have the choice of whether or not your Instagram likes and comment count is displayed publicly. You can even update your Instagram feed to hide or unhide likes if you want to just focus on the content.
Manual Checking: You can visit your boyfriend's Instagram profile and look at the posts he has interacted with through public comments or tagged photos, but you cannot see all his “likes” unless you have access to his account.
Who can see when you've liked a photo, or when someone's liked your photo on Instagram. When you like a photo, it's visible to anyone who can see the post. Your followers may also see your username below a photo you've liked, no matter how many likes it has (example: [your username] and 12 others).
Menu in the top right. Below How you use Instagram, tap Your activity. Below Interactions, tap Likes. Tap Select in the top right, then tap Select on the posts you want to unlike.
Open your Instagram profile and click on the post or reel on which you want to hide likes. Click the three-dot icon in the top right corner of the post or reel. In the menu that appears, select Hide like count. This will immediately hide the likes on this specific post or reel.
You can tell if someone restricted you on Instagram by checking if their activity status disappears, your messages go to Message Requests without "Seen" receipts, or your comments on their posts become invisible to others (but visible to you). These signs are subtle because Instagram doesn't send direct notifications, but they indicate your interactions are limited without the user having to block you.
If blocking is pushing someone out the door and slamming it in their face, soft blocking is easing them out the door and gently shutting it without them even realizing it.
1. Observe His Public Instagram Activity
There are a few ways to see when someone's active on Instagram:
Browse Through Posts: For each profile they follow, browse through recent posts to see if the person has liked any of them. You'll need to click on the likes of a post to see if their name appears in the list of people who have liked the post.