Instagram update: new feature adds button to Stories to make them more personal

Instagram’s newest feature is designed to help its users stay in touch with their besties. Called Close Friends the feature is an extension of Instagram Stories.

The idea is simple enough, offering people a way to have a smaller, curated list of their real-life friends with whom they can share more personal updates.

So while you might not want all of your followers knowing you got engaged, or had a baby girl, you might want to share that good news with your close friends.

You’ll be able to change your Close Friends at any time. No one will be notified if they have been added or removed from a list.

You’ll be able to tell if someone has shared something with their Close Friends group as the Story will have a green circle around it, rather than the existing multi-coloured ring.

Close Friends Stories are created in the same way a normal Instagram Story is. As you’re creating you’ll notice a new green Close Friends button that allows you to share with you select group of buddies.

Like all Instagram features it’s inevitable that some of the platform’s biggest users will find a way to make money out of Close Friends. Perhaps you could buy access to a celebrity’s inner circle for a low, low monthly fee.

Or perhaps even porn models will use it to share photos too risky for the more public platform.

We asked Instagram what the rules were for content on Close Friends, and it told Mirror Online that while the usual terms and conditions applied, it wouldn’t be proactively policing private Stories.

That means that users would have to report a post in order for it to be taken down.

This could prove controversial as the UK government has recently started making a fuss about big tech firms allowing extremist content.

Instagram Close Friends will launch at 10am today. Users who have the latest version of the app should be able to access it now.