Like Counter

Learn more about like counters

What is a like counter?

A like counter is a simple method of logging – and displaying – user approval. Adding a like counter to the UI design of an app or website will help to increase user engagement while also gathering valuable data.

From social media and blogging platforms to news-media websites and e-commerce stores, everyone loves a like. By clicking a like button, users are able to signal approval or enthusiasm with a minimum of effort. But as simple as the concept may be, the like button has literally changed the world over the last decade and a half.

Like counters first date back to the mid-2000s. Since that time they have gradually become ubiquitous; arguably even altering human behavior. Indeed, not only have many people come to derive much of their self esteem and social validation from the number of clicks they receive via like buttons, but the data provided has become invaluable to businesses everywhere.

Now data from a like counter can be used to quite accurately predict everything from shopping preferences to voting habits. In a well-known social experiment conducted during the early days of social media, it was discovered that an algorithm could better predict a person’s behavior than their partner could; merely by studying the data collected from social media likes.

The like counter is undoubtedly one of the most powerful digital tools out there. While in recent years some social media platforms have chosen to hide likes from public view, like counters are still there clocking up data behind the scenes. Indeed the phenomenon doesn’t show any signs of going away just yet.