Instagram works on feature that lets users leave Close Friends lists

Instagram is developing a new feature that will allow users to remove themselves from someone else’s Close Friends list, Meta confirmed on Friday.

The feature, Close Friends, was rolled out in 2018; it allows users to share their stories, reels, and posts with a limited number of friends rather than all of their followers. To date, users included in a Close Friends list have no way to opt out of it unless they are removed by the list owner.

Instagram Close Friends update spotted

The internal prototype was first noticed by Alessandro Paluzzi, a reverse engineer mostly known for discovering leaked features for social media platforms. Paluzzi has already shown how the feature could possibly be implemented.

Based on the warning prompt from the internal prototype, it seems that if a person is taken off a Close Friends list, they will not be able to see the close friends' posts of the person they were in the list with unless they are added back.

While some people will probably be annoyed if they get taken off from a Close Friends list, others will probably like this feature. Feeling part of some private groups can be uncomfortable for some people, and this feature can actually help them.

Notably, the update gives more control to the users, as it will enable the users to opt out themselves from the close friends lists of the people they're following.

Other than Close Friends, Meta is also working on paid subscriptions for Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp. Meta, the parent company, confirmed that these subscriptions are intended to provide exclusive features while keeping the service free.