A couple of months back, popular social media platform Instagram started testing a feature that would hide the number of likes users get on their posts. The feature is being tested in Brazil, Canada, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand, but according to a new study, Instagram usage is now reportedly on a decline in these regions.

The study was conducted by Apptica, an advertising analytics company. According to the findings, right from the announcement of the feature back in August at Facebook’s F8 2019 developer conference, the app has been struggling to secure its position in the Top Charts of iOS App Store and Google Play Store.

As you can see in the image above, Instagram’s position has been fluctuating in Canada, Australia, and Brazil, three countries where the like-hiding feature is live right now.

The situation is similar in the iOS App Store for these three countries as well.

While there are obviously a lot of factors that affect an app’s ranking on highly competitive app stores like the Google Play Store and iOS App Store, the analytics company believes that one of the primary reasons for the rapid downfall in rankings could be because of the introduction of this new feature which was supposed to be a positive gesture for reducing negative thoughts and comparisons among people.

So, what are your thoughts on Instagram’s decision to get rid of the likes counter? Are you happy with it? Let us know in the comments section below.