Keyword filters don't catch engagement numbers: the like count under a post, the view count on a video, or the follower total on a profile (including your own). They carry no words to match on, sit in view on every page, and can turn normal reading into scorekeeping.
This guide covers how to remove engagement numbers from the sites you use with ElementHider's element picker.
Why Vanity Metrics Are Worth Removing
Engagement counters are placed so you see them before reading the post itself. They show how a post performed before you form your own view of it, and on your own posts they turn what you wrote into a live counter.
You don't have to quit a site to get rid of the counters. The numbers are separate elements in the page layout, so you can hide them while leaving the rest of the page intact.
The Problem: Counters Aren't Words
ElementHider's default tool is keyword matching, which works well for text filtering (see muting any word on any website). But a like count is not a fixed word. It is 1.2k today and 1.3k tomorrow. There is no stable string to match, and matching digits in general would hide timestamps, prices, and every other number on the page.
What stays constant is the counter's position in the page structure: it is the same element, in the same place, on every post. That is what the element picker targets.
Using the Element Picker
Open the popup on the page you want to clean up
Navigate to the site first. The picker works on whichever page is open in front of you.
Click Element in the Keywords toolbar
It sits between the Word and Flag buttons. The popup closes and a banner appears prompting you to click an element.
Hover over the number you want gone
A blue outline follows your cursor showing what will be selected. Click when the outline is around the counter.
Adjust the level, then save
A dialog shows the CSS selector it generated, plus a row of parent buttons. If you caught only the digits but wanted the whole "1.2k likes" row, step up one parent. The match count tells you how many elements on the page the rule will affect.
Tip: Counters often sit at the top of a page in a sticky header. The guidance banner used to sit over that spot, but as of v1.2.1 it no longer intercepts your clicks and slides to the bottom of the window when your cursor moves near it.
Check the match count in the dialog before saving. A selector that matches 1 element hides one counter, while a selector that matches 40 hides every counter in the feed.
Site by Site
X / Twitter
The reply, repost, like, and view counts sit in a single action bar under each post. Picking one number and stepping up a parent or two usually catches the whole bar at once across every post in the timeline. Follower and following totals on profile pages are a separate pick.
Instagram already offers a native "hide like counts" setting. The picker is useful for what that setting doesn't cover: follower counts on profiles and view counts on Reels.
YouTube
View counts and like totals under the player are separate elements from the video title and channel name, so they can be hidden without affecting anything else. Thumbnail view counts in the sidebar are a separate pick. Pair it with keyword filtering if spoilers in titles are also an issue.
The score sits in its own column beside each post, so hiding it leaves the post layout intact. Comment scores are a separate element inside each comment.
Reaction and comment counts sit in a bar under each feed post. If engagement numbers are what you want to hide, pick that bar; if the posts themselves are the problem, keyword-filtering the feed is the better option.
Before saving: Test Mode outlines what a rule matches without removing it. On a busy feed, that is the easiest way to confirm a selector catches every counter and nothing else.
When Keywords Are Still the Better Tool
The picker targets page structure, so it fits best when the element you want to hide stays in the same place while its text changes. Keywords are better when the text is predictable but the position varies:
| What you want gone | Best tool |
|---|---|
| Like / view / follower counts | Element picker |
| Trending sidebars, "Who to follow" | Element picker |
| A topic, name or spoiler | Keywords |
| "Sponsored" and promoted posts | Keywords |
| Anything whose position moves around | Keywords |
You can combine both: a few selectors for recurring page elements and a keyword list for specific topics.
Making It Stick
A saved element rule is stored in your rule list and applies automatically on every page load. Two things are worth keeping in mind:
- Site redesigns break selectors. When a site changes its HTML structure, a selector pointing at the old markup stops matching. Re-picking the element takes a few seconds.
- Prefer the smallest selector that does the job. Stepping up too many parents can hide an entire post container and is more likely to break when a site updates its layout.
If you build up rules across several sites, Groups (Supporter Pack) let you bundle them together, such as a "Vanity metrics" group you can toggle off whenever you need to check the numbers.
The Bottom Line
Because engagement counters use consistent markup across a site, a single element-picker rule hides them across every post or video on that domain. If you also want to hide recommendation sidebars and trending panels, see the distraction-free browsing guide.