Instagram is working on a small but potentially meaningful change to how its Close Friends feature works. According to Meta, the platform is developing a feature that would allow users to remove themselves from another person’s Close Friends list. The idea is still in an early internal stage and is not being publicly tested, which means there is no confirmed timeline or guarantee that it will ever roll out.
Close Friends, introduced in 2018, lets users limit the audience for Stories, Reels, and posts to a curated group rather than their full follower list. While it gives the person creating content granular control, the system has always been one-sided. If someone adds you to their Close Friends list, you currently have no direct way to opt out other than muting or unfollowing the account entirely.
The existence of the new option was first uncovered by reverse engineer Alessandro Paluzzi, who frequently surfaces unreleased social app features before they are announced. Screenshots shared by Paluzzi suggest that users who choose to leave someone’s Close Friends list would see a warning explaining that they would no longer have access to that person’s Close Friends content unless they are added back manually.
On the surface, the feature seems simple, but it touches on a social dynamic that many users are familiar with. Being placed on a Close Friends list can feel flattering, but it can also feel awkward or intrusive, particularly when the relationship is professional, distant, or has changed over time. Giving users a quiet way to remove themselves could reduce that friction without forcing more drastic actions like unfollowing or blocking.
The move would also bring Instagram closer to feature parity with competitors. Snapchat already allows users to remove themselves from someone’s private story, a similar concept that gives viewers more agency over what they see and participate in.
As with many internal prototypes, it remains unclear whether Meta intends to ship the feature widely. Instagram has a long history of testing interface and privacy changes internally that never make it to public release, often because of usability concerns or unintended social consequences.
The Close Friends update is part of a broader period of experimentation for Instagram. Meta has recently confirmed plans to test subscription offerings across Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp, aimed at providing additional controls and exclusive features while keeping the core apps free. Early indications suggest these subscriptions could include advanced audience tools, follower insights, and privacy-focused viewing options, though specifics remain fluid.
If released, the ability to leave a Close Friends list would not dramatically change how Instagram works, but it would subtly shift power toward viewers rather than creators. In a platform built around social signaling and visibility, even small adjustments like this can have an outsized impact on how people manage their online relationships.
