Instagram is now expanding its Close Friends feature, allowing users to share main feed posts and reels exclusively with their select group. Previously limited to stories, this expansion aims to offer users more control over their content's audience, promoting a pressure-free space for authentic connections, as reported first by TechCrunch.
How to Use the Close Friends Feature
To utilize this feature, users can tap into the "audience" menu before sharing a post or reel, selecting their Close Friends list. Once posted, the content will bear a distinctive green star icon in the feeds of Close Friends, distinguishing it from regular posts. This follows the same visual cue used for Close Friends stories, which appear with a green ring.
The Close Friends list remains consistent across all post types, fostering a seamless experience whether sharing stories, reels, feed posts, or notes. While responses to stories function like private direct messages (DMs), interactions on Close Friends posts or reels, such as likes and comments, will be visible to others within the Close Friends circle.
This expansion comes on the heels of the discontinuation of X's Close Friends-like Circles feature. Instagram acknowledges its community's use of Close Friends as a space to connect with meaningful individuals and hopes this extension provides more options for users to express their authentic selves.
"We hope this opens up more ways to be your most authentic self on Instagram while having more choices over who sees your content," the Meta-owned platform said in a statement.
The expansion could open up new avenues for creators to generate revenue. Although some content creators currently use third-party applications for Close Friends story subscriptions, the formal integration of main feed posts and reels into the Close Friends feature presents a promising opportunity to monetize exclusive content on Instagram.
Read Also : Meta's Oversight Board Upholds Decision on Controversial Diet Posts, Recommends Content Restriction
Threads DM is Coming Soon to Instagram
In related news, Instagram is addressing long-standing user requests by working to integrate Threads' DM feature into the main Instagram app. Adam Mosseri, Instagram's CEO, clarified this integration in response to user queries about Threads' DMs.
Previously requiring app switching, this integration will streamline communication for users, eliminating the need to switch between apps for messaging purposes.
Mosseri explained that the integration was already launched on Threads, but it might still be in testing and not universally available. The company is working to simplify the process and enhance the user experience, aiming to address challenges related to redundant message threads and notification routing within the Threads DM feature.
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