Instagram expands close friends feature to include posts and Reels

Image: Instagram

Instagram is trialing a feature that allows your friends to contribute to your carousel posts. As you prepare to share a carousel, Instagram will offer the option for your followers to submit their own photos and videos for potential inclusion.

In a significant update, Instagram now enables you to restrict your posts and Reels to just your close friends. This builds on the existing ability to share Stories and Notes with a select group, potentially transforming the way users interact on the platform.

With this new feature, you're not obligated to share your posts with all your followers. As others use this feature too, your Instagram feed may start to resemble a more intimate community. Posts from close friends are marked with a green star, and extending this feature to Reels could enhance the app's sense of privacy.

Instagram previously experimented with a close friends-centric platform through its Threads app in 2019. Now, it's integrating this concept of a more private, selective sharing experience directly into Instagram. This mirrors Facebook's long-standing feature that allows users to restrict posts to specific friend groups, like close friends, acquaintances, or even excluding certain people entirely.

Image: Instagram

To make a post or Reel visible only to close friends, select the Audience option before sharing. Choose Close Friends, confirm with Done, and share as usual. Only those on your close friends list will see the post, identifiable by a green star icon.

Before this update, Instagram didn't offer the flexibility to adjust visibility on a per-post basis. Users could only set their entire account as public or private.

Introduced in 2018, the close friends feature initially allowed for more private sharing of Stories. It has since become a valuable tool for users wanting to limit their audience. With its extension to posts and Reels, the dynamics of your Instagram feed could shift, showing more or less content from others based on your inclusion in their close friends list.

At Band of Coders, we recognize the importance of evolving digital platforms to enhance user experience and privacy. Our team is dedicated to developing solutions that reflect these changing needs, ensuring that your digital presence remains both dynamic and secure. If you're looking to adapt your digital strategy to keep pace with these trends, we are here to help. Let's connect and explore how we can support your digital journey.