Instagram is expanding its Close Friends feature beyond Stories to users’ main feeds. The feature, which allows users to share more personal content with a select group of people, will now appear as a new option when creating a new feed post.
Users can enable the Close Friends feature during the process of creating a new post. They can then limit visibility of that post to their list of Close Friends. These posts will appear with a green badge for the Close Friends in their main feed, differentiated from regular public posts.
The company began testing this expanded Close Friends feature last month. Now after seeing positive results, Instagram is rolling it out to all users on iOS and Android globally.
Close Friends was first launched in 2018 exclusively for Instagram Stories. It lets users create a private “Close Friends” list and share Stories visible only to that inner circle. The feature has become popular for sharing casual, behind-the-scenes moments without broadcasting to one’s entire follower base.
“With this new feature, you can now also share to Close Friends from your main Instagram feed. This allows people to share more personal moments with a smaller group of their closest friends on Instagram,” said Instagram head Adam Mosseri.
The launch aims to give users more choice and control over their audience on Instagram. As social media platforms contend with demands for stronger privacy, exclusive sharing features help keep intimate moments more private.
Instagram’s Close Friends list can contain up to 150 accounts. It offers users a way to share everyday personal updates beyond their public profile. Expanding this selective sharing ability to the main feed allows more customizable sharing per post based on intended audience.
