What happens if you accidentally 'like' an Instagram post?

Instagram users have likely experienced the awkward moment of accidentally 'liking' an old post, leading to anxiety about whether the other person will notice. Adam Mosseri, the head of Instagram, has clarified what occurs in such situations, particularly regarding notifications.

When a user likes a photo or video, Instagram automatically sends two types of notifications: an internal one within the app's activity section and a push notification to the user's device. If the 'like' is quickly removed, the internal notification disappears immediately, provided the activity section hasn't been opened.

However, Mosseri explained that once a push notification is sent to the phone's operating system, Instagram loses control over it. This means the alert might briefly appear on the recipient's screen even after the interaction has been deleted. The visibility of this notification ultimately depends on whether the recipient is actively using their device at that moment and has notifications enabled.

Mosseri acknowledged the technical limitations, stating, "If we could delete that notification from the phone, we would, but we can't." Therefore, his advice is to navigate through old posts with caution. While rapidly unliking an accidental 'like' can help conceal the mistake, there's no absolute guarantee that the recipient won't see the notification if it has already reached their device.

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If we could delete that notification from the phone, we would, but we can't.