Instagram Close Friends feature Explained: Step-by-Step Setup Guide
The Instagram Close Friends feature is a great feature to use if you want to show something only to a specific group of people. With this feature, you’ll be able to make sure your stories can only be seen by those you pick, giving it a closed and more private sharing experience.
In this guide, we’ll take you through how to create your Close Friends list on Instagram so you can decide who you’d like to see your personal updates and stories. This feature is great because you can curate your audience quickly by a few taps and share with family, friends, or a selected group anyway you want.
What is the Instagram Close Friends Feature & How Does it Work?
What is the Instagram Close Friends Feature & How Does it Work?
The Instagram Close Friends feature gives users the ability to post content only to a few followers, who are much more private, less public, and tailored than sharing to full follower list. The idea behind this feature is that it’s for times when you want to limit sharing to a select few people to create a sort of intimacy and privacy with your platform.
This is different than a traditional follower setup where you can set your posts and stories as public, based on your privacy settings, but with Close Friends content only your mates on your customized list see it, adding some exclusivity and control over your shared content.
How to Create Your Close Friends List Within Two Minutes
1. Open Instagram App
First, open up the Instagram app on your mobile device and then you’re ready to begin setting up your Close Friends list. Login to your account.
2. Tap on the Profile Icon
Then you should tap on the profile icon at the bottom right corner of the screen. This will bring you on to your Instagram profile page.
3. Go to Close Friends List
Tap on the three horizontal lines from the top right of the screen on your profile page. If you open this menu you will see an option for ‘Close Friends’ near the bottom.
4. Add People To Your Close Friends List
When you have opened your close friends list you can start to add adding people by tapping on ‘add’ and picking from the list of followers on your list or you can type somebody’s username. Tap on “Suggestions” to see a list of suggested users you should add.
5. Remove People from Your Close Friends List
To remove someone from your Close Friends list, just tap on their name and tap the three dots beside their profile picture. Selecting “Remove from List” means this will open a menu.
Using the Instagram Close Friends Feature
After you’ve gotten your Close Friends list set up, it’s time to use this feature to start sharing content with your chosen group of followers. Here are some ideas for how you can utilize this feature:
- Personalize keep in and share personal updates and moments with close family and friends, without concerning others will be seen.
- Either use it to share exclusive content with a dedicated community, such as work colleagues of classmates or share your personal portfolio with your potential friend.
- Make a group out of your cutest buds and use it to party plan and discuss private matters.
- Behind the scenes content, had you in your building that shoot, sneaky peeks at your next project. if you have a small group of followers who are genuinely interested in you.
1. Navigate to Settings
Once you have the app open, you must now tap on the your profile icon at the bottom right corner of the screen. Head here, then tap the three lines in the upper right corner to bring up the menu and choose ‘Settings.’ This will bring you to your account settings.
2. Tap on Privacy
Here, open the “Settings,” select “Privacy” and then “Story.” Here is where you have the ability to manage who can see your stories.
3. Select Close Friends
Go to the “Story Controls” and then tap “Close Friends.” Then they will pop up a list of all your Close Friends.
4. Choose Who Can See Your Stories
You can now toggle between two options: Hide Story from and Allow List. You can only show your story to those in your Close Friends list from the Allow List option, while Hide Story From option provides you ability to choose specific followers to hide your story from.
Managing Your Close Friends List
But if you start to use Instagram Close Friends feature you’d want to add or delete someone from this list.
Here are some tips for managing your Close Friends list:
- Keep adding and reviewing your list all the time. To add or remove people it is super easy!
If you don’t see the feature next to “followers” listed above, you can click the ‘Suggestions’ button here which will show you other accounts you may want to add to your Close Friends list. - There’s no guidelines for how many so give it a shot and see what works best in the sharing experience for you with out there. So you can always change it later.
1.Let’s Get Started!
There you should be able to find the “Close Friends” option somewhere under “Account” or “Privacy” sections in the settings menu. When you tap on it proceed to create your list.
2. Add People to Your Close Friends List
You’ve now got the option to choose who gets to be on your Close Friends list. And when Instagram suggests users based on your interactions, but you can also manually search for users. Click the ‘Add’ next to the names of people you want to include.
3. Finalize and Create Your List
Tap “Done” to create your list once you’ve chosen Close Friends. This list is always editable, you can always add or remove people at any time.
Tips for Using the Close Friends Feature
- The truth is, people can still break out and write content off of Instagram, so always work to limit your list to those people you actually want to share opportunities for personal updates or moments with.
- Keep your Close Friends list review and update regularly, adding new people or removing people you no longer care for.
- Use this Feature with caution – not everyone is going to like the idea of being in the loop or not.
It doesn’t mean you’ll never get seen, but what you all share amongst a bunch of people.
How to Remove Someone from Your Close Friends List
If you don’t want someone on your list of Close Friends anymore, you just need to go back to your Close Friends settings. To remove someone from your list tap the checkmark next to the user’s name. It’s fast and can be done whenever you need it to suit your schedule.
Additional Tips & Ideas for Using the Close Friends Feature
- The Close Friends feature can be used to expose exclusive promotions or discounts in a small, loyal following.
- Have different lists for different purposes – for ex a list for personal updates, a list for work-related updates and a list for close family members.
- And you should not afraid to mix this feature into your Instagram life and find out how you can up your experience in Instagram. So maybe you never know what creative ways you might come up with to use it!
How to Share Feed Posts, Stories, Reels, and Live with Your Close Friends
Instagram Close Friends feature
Start by creating your post, story, reel, or start a live stream as you normally would, to share different type of content privately with your Close Friends. When you’ve found the before option to select your audience, choose Close Friends as your target audience before you share.
That means only those chosen people on your list will see the content. You can also select Close Friends for audience from posts and reels as you tap on the ‘Share to’ option below the post before publishing it.
How to Check if You’re on Someone’s Close Friends List
You won’t get a notification if you’re added to someone’s Close Friends list on Instagram, but there are clues as to whether you’ve been bestowed the honour.
A Green circle around the user’s profile photo on the stories bar indicates content shared only with Close Friends. On top of that, use search to see if there’s a direct communication or story label that indicates Close Friends content.
The Benefits of Using the Instagram Close Friends Feature
instagram close friends benefits. The privacy benefits include the ability to post intimate or sensitive content to share with only your family and friends, or with those you deem worthy, thereby increasing engagement through more intimate or meaningful interactions with your chosen select few. You are able to control what is on your page, so you don’t have to worry if your posts are described.
Let’s have some some fun on and play with Close Friends feature so to make your Instagram usage more personalized! Overall this is a really handy way to stay in touch with the ones you love the most without showing your content out to everyone around.
You can use your channel to inspire people to share personal moments, deals, people and things they have in common and so on You can use that to for exclusive update, promotions or even offers.
How to Upload a Story to Instagram Close Friends
Begin by creating your story as you normally would and then scroll down to the second Story row beneath your main Story, where you will see the option to upload your story exclusively to your Close Friends.
Rather than selecting an audience, like your general one, choose the “Close Friends” option before posting. In effect, the story will be exclusive to you and only those on your Close Friends list will see it, with the result being private and specific.
How to Know if Someone Has You in Their Close Friends List
It can be subtle but it is a sure sign that you’ve been added to someone’s Close Friends list. Look out for the green circle around their profile picture in stories they’ve shared the content with their Close Friends.
if they highlight any kind of direct interaction or mention you specifically, that may mean that they’ve added you to their inner circle on Instagram.
Conclusion
The Instagram Close Friends feature is one of those features of Instagram that make it all the more fun and enjoyable to use to keep in touch with your friends when you can’t physically see them. This means carefully curating your Close Friends list, keeping their list small enough to keep the balance between privacy and engagement, and thus your personal updates are being reached by the right people.
This not only brings you a more genuine connection with those around you, but it also let’s you have control over your shared content. When you use this Close Friends feature, you’ll experience a way to interact with your audience that may be new, fun and relevant helping to foster more personal, meaningful and creative interactions with the people you feel the closest to on Instagram.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q: Will the people on my Close Friends list know they’ve been added?
You aren’t notified when you’re added to or removed from a Close Friends list, no. If you share a Story to a Close Friends list, the only way for them to know that they’re on your Close Friends list is if you see a green circle around your profile picture.
Q: Can I create more than one Close Friends list?
Currently, Instagram gives you only one Close Friends list. But you can indeed update and change this list as often as you like to suit different needs of sharing.
Q: Is the Close Friends feature available for all types of content?
Mostly, the Close Friends feature is for Instagram Stories. When it comes to sharing reels, however, you can choose to share it only to Close Friends when you post it.
Q: Can others see who is on my Close Friends list?
Your Close Friends list isn’t public. Only you have a view of who is on the list. But your list people won’t know who else is included.
Q: How do I update my Close Friends list?
To update your Close Friends list, go to the “Close Friends” section in your settings. You can easily add or remove people here, just select their names. Immediately your changes will be updated.
Q: Does using the Close Friends feature affect my general follower interactions?
It should not affect your interactions with your general followers, ie using the Close Friends feature shouldn’t stop you connecting with your general followers.
instead of allowing every single person to see everything, it lets you share some stuff with the people that you want to see it, but it doesn’t affect your wider participation with everyone else through other posts and interactions.