Instagram’s close friends feature now applies to posts and Reels, too

Instagram’s latest feature lets you limit your posts to just close friends. You could already share Stories and Notes with only the users on your close friends list, but including posts and Reels could drastically change how Instagram works.

Since you no longer have to share posts with your entire follower list, and other users can do the same, your Instagram feed could start to feel like it’s filled with posts from a more close-knit community. You see a green star next to the accounts of close friends, and expanding that “green list” to Reels could go a long way toward making the app feel more private.

Instagram took a stab at a close friends-only platform with the launch of its original Threads app in 2019, but now, it seems like it’s trying to carry over that feeling of privacy to Instagram as well. Meanwhile, Facebook has long let users limit posts to certain groups of people on your friends list, whether it’s for close friends, acquaintances, or people you don’t want to share posts with at all.

To limit a post or reel to close friends only, select the Audience option that appears when you’re about to share the post. Then, hit Close Friends > Done, and share your post like you normally would. Only your close friends will see the photo, video, or reel you post, along with a green star icon indicating it was just shared to users on your list.

Instagram previously didn’t let you tweak the visibility of each post. You could only set your account to public or private.

Instagram first rolled out its close friends feature in 2018 as a way to share Stories with smaller groups, and it has become a helpful way for users to share content they might not want all their followers to see. Now that the same goes for posts and Reels shared to the platform, it might mean you might see less — or more — from users on your timeline, depending on whether you’re on their close friends list.