How to Use Instagram's Close Friends Feature

Some things are better shared with just a few friends

By
Elise Moreau
Elise Moreau
Elise Moreau
Freelance Contributor
  • University of Ontario
  • George Brown College
Elise Moreau is a writer that has covered social media, texting, messaging, and streaming for Lifewire. Her work has appeared on Techvibes, SlashGear, Lifehack and others.
lifewire's editorial guidelines
Updated on November 22, 2021
Reviewed by
Lisa Mildon
Lisa Mildon
Reviewed by Lisa Mildon
  • Southern New Hampshire University
Lisa Mildon is a Lifewire writer and an IT professional with 30 years of experience. Her writing has appeared in Geekisphere and other publications.
lifewire's editorial guidelines

What to Know

  • For first-time users, tap your profile picture, select Menu > Close Friends, and select Create List.
  • To add friends, tap your profile picture and then select Menu > Close Friends > Add. 
  • To remove friends, tap your profile picture, select Menu > Close Friends, and choose Remove next to the person to delete from the list.

This article explains how to use Instagram’s Close Friends feature. Instructions apply to the mobile version of Instagram on iOS or Android.

How to Use Close Friends on Instagram

Instagram's Close Friends feature is a customizable list of people you like sharing your stories with the most. It helps you instantly share those more intimate stories with just the users you consider closest to you (whether you follow them or not).

At this time, you can only use Close Friends with stories and not with other Instagram sharing features like posts or direct messages.

Follow these steps to create a Close Friends list and add people to it.

  1. Tap your profile picture in the bottom-right of the screen.

  2. Select the menu button in the top-right corner.

  3. Select Close Friends from the vertical menu.

  4. You should see a list of suggested users to add to your Close Friends list. Tap Add to include someone in that list, or use the Search field at the top to quickly locate and add a specific person.

    An Instagram user accesses their Close Friends list

    Users don't know when you add them to your Close Friends list. You can tap Your List at the top to see everyone on it. Instagram has no known limit to how many users you can add to your Close Friends list.

  5. If this is your first time creating a Close Friends list, tap Create List. If you already have a Close Friends list, skip this step.

Once you create a Close Friends list, you can easily share stories with them. Take a photo or record a video, then tap the Close Friends button at the bottom of the screen to instantly share it.

To remove someone from your Close Friends list, navigate to Your Profile > Menu > Close Friends > Your List and tap Remove beside the person's username. Users are not notified when you do this.

How Users Know They're One of Your Close Friends

Although Instagram doesn't notify users when you add or remove them from your Close Friends list, they can tell which stories you shared with Close Friends from the stories you share with everyone by looking at the color of the ring around your profile picture in the stories feed whenever you post a new one. Close friends see a green ring instead of a pink ring. The green ring is the only way a user can tell they're a Close Friend.

Was this page helpful?