#Facebook removes ‘likes’ feature from public pages

Facebook has removed one of its most iconic features from pages used by public personas and companies.

The social network has dropped the “likes” tally from public pages used by artists, public officials and brands as part of a new redesign. Those pages will now only show follower count, which Facebook says is intended to make things simpler.

“Unlike Likes, Followers of a Page represent the people who can receive updates from Pages, which helps give public figures a stronger indication of their fan base,” the company said in a blog post.

Facebook has also redesigned pages to have their own dedicated News Feeds, where they will be able to “discover and join conversations, follow trends, interact with peers and engage with fans.”