X removed public like counts and the public likes tab for most users. You can still see your own likes in your account activity, and you may see likes on posts you engage with, but you can no longer browse a full public list of what other people have liked. This is a platform change, not a bug.
What changed with likes on X
X (formerly Twitter) quietly removed the ability for most people to see a full public list of likes on other accounts. This used to sit under a tab on someone's profile. For a lot of users, that tab has gone, or it only shows a partial view.
This was not announced with much fanfare. People just started noticing that the likes tab was missing or behaving differently, and that is what has driven the search for how to see likes on X after the update.
I want to be plain about this from the start. There is no trick, extension, or setting that restores full public visibility of someone else's likes if X has removed it for your account type. If you see a tool claiming otherwise, be careful.
Can you still see your own likes
Yes, you can usually still see your own likes. This is the one area where you still have reasonable control.
- Open X and go to your own profile
- Look for the Likes tab on your profile page
- Tap or click it to see posts you have liked
If this tab is not showing on your profile, it may have been hidden or moved as part of the update. In that case, there is not a way to force it back on from your side.
Can you see other people's likes
For most accounts, no. The public likes tab on other people's profiles has been removed or restricted for a large number of users. You cannot click onto someone's profile and expect a full scrollable list of everything they have liked, the way you once could.
Some accounts may still show partial activity, such as likes appearing in your timeline when someone you follow likes a post. That is a different thing to a public likes tab, and it is not guaranteed to show everything.
I know this is frustrating if you used likes to research what someone was interested in, or to keep an eye on a competitor. That use case has mostly gone.
Why X made this change
X has not given a single detailed public explanation that covers every reason, so I will not pretend to know their full internal thinking. What is clear is that this fits a wider pattern of X reducing visibility of engagement data for privacy reasons.
Likes were often used to track people in ways they did not expect, including seeing what someone had liked without them knowing you were looking. Removing or limiting that feature reduces that kind of quiet surveillance.
It also changes behaviour. When people know their likes are more private, they tend to like more freely. X may see that as good for engagement, though I cannot confirm that is their stated reason.
What you can still check in your account settings
Your account settings will not bring back a public likes feed for other users, but they are worth checking if you are trying to understand what is visible about your own activity.
- Go to Settings and privacy
- Open Privacy and safety
- Review the options under Audience, media and tagging
- Check Data sharing and off X activity if you want to understand related data settings
None of these settings will restore a public likes tab that X has removed. They simply help you understand what is currently shared about your own account.
What to do if you relied on likes for research
If you used to check likes to understand what someone cared about, you will need a different approach now.
Look at what someone retweets, reposts, replies to, and quotes instead. These actions are still visible in most cases and tell you a lot about someone's interests, often more clearly than a like did.
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You can also look at who someone follows and what lists they are part of. This will not replace a full like history, but it gives you a reasonable picture of their interests without needing a feature that no longer exists in the way it used to.
What will not work
I want to save you some time here. Browser extensions claiming to unlock hidden likes on other people's accounts are not a reliable fix. At best they are reading data that is already public somewhere, such as likes shown in your own timeline. At worst they ask for account access you should not be giving away.
Logging out and back in, clearing your cache, or switching between the app and browser will not restore a feature that has been removed at a platform level. If the likes tab is gone for your account type, it is gone regardless of these steps.
There is also no official workaround published by X itself for viewing other people's full like history if it has been restricted. If one existed, it would be documented in X's own help pages, not in a random blog post or video.
A simple way to think about this going forward
Treat likes on X as a largely private action now, both yours and other people's. Plan your use of the platform around that.
If you want to show public support for a post, reposting or replying is now the clearer signal. If you want to keep track of posts for yourself, use your own Likes tab or a Bookmark, which remains a private way to save posts you want to find again later.
This update is about privacy, not about taking features away from you specifically. Once you adjust how you use likes, bookmarks, and reposts, the change becomes much less of a problem day to day.
Frequently asked questions
Can I still see my own likes on X in 2026
Yes, in most cases you can still view your own Likes tab on your profile. If it is missing, that is part of the platform change and not something you can switch back on yourself.
Can I see who liked my posts on X
You can usually see likes on your own posts when you open the post and check the engagement details. This is different from seeing a full public likes list on someone else's profile.
Is there a setting to bring back public likes on X
No. There is no setting in your account that restores a public likes tab if X has removed it for your account type. This is a platform level change, not a personal setting.
Do extensions that claim to show hidden likes work
I would not trust them. Most either reuse data that is already visible elsewhere or ask for risky account access. There is no reliable extension that restores removed public like data.
More X and Twitter fixes: the X help guide.
