Instagram adds ‘Close Friends’ feature to make Stories more personal

Instagram rolled out a feature to make Stories more
personal.
Toru
Hanai/Reuters

• Instagram announced a new feature called “Close
  Friends” which will allow people to share their Stories
  exclusively with a list of approved users.
• Instagram’s Head of Product Robby Stein said that in
  testing, people mostly used the feature to send Stories to
  their real-life friends.
• The feature rolled out globally on Friday on iOS and
  Android.

Instagram announced on Friday a new feature to let users select
“Close Friends” to view their Stories.

Under the new feature, users will be able to select an exclusive
list of people who will be able to view their Stories. The
feature rolled out globally on iOS and Android on Friday.

“Instagram Stories has become the place to express yourself and
share everyday moments, but our community has grown and sometimes
what you want to share isn’t for everyone,” Instagram said in a blog.

“With Close Friends, you have the flexibility to share more
personal moments with a smaller group that you choose.”

Instagram’s director of product Robby Stein also announced the
feature at TechCrunch Disrupt Berlin. He said that in testing
people used the feature to add people who are their friends in
real life.

He added that when you add or remove people from your Close
Friends list, they won’t be notified, as it is a “completely
private list.”

While Instagram is touting the feature as a way to curate a more
private Instagram Story, Guardian reporter Alex Hern pointed out
it could be a way to more precisely target its users with
advertising.

Business Insider contacted Instagram for comment.