Close Friends on Instagram: How to Add, Remove and Post
Add people to Close Friends from the menu on your Instagram profile (Settings on instagram.com): under Who can see your content, tap Close Friends, then Select next to each person. A close friends Instagram story, note or, where available, reel then reaches only people on that list. People aren’t notified when you add or remove them, but they see a Close Friends label on what you share with them.
The detail is below: what the list works with, what members see of each other, and three things Instagram leaves undocumented. Close Friends is one of several privacy controls, and our Instagram starter guide lists the rest.
Table of Contents
- What is Close Friends on Instagram?
- How to add people to your Close Friends list
- How to remove someone from Close Friends
- How to post a close friends Instagram story
- How to share a Reel with Close Friends
- Close Friends in Notes, the map and Limits
- Does Instagram notify people when you add or remove them?
- Can you make a Close Friends story public, or set a list size?
- Can Outfeed post to Close Friends?
- Close Friends on Instagram: FAQ
What is Close Friends on Instagram?
Close Friends is a list you use to share a post, note, reel or story with only the people on it. Build it once, then choose each time you share whether something goes to the list or to your usual audience. No one can request to be added, Instagram says. Checked against Instagram Help Center: Create a Close Friends list on Instagram It suits low-key updates, and any tea you’d rather not spill to every follower.
It controls what you share, not who sees your followers; for that, see how to hide followers on Instagram.
How to add people to your Close Friends list
Open the menu on your profile, tap Close Friends below Who can see your content, and tap Select next to each person you want. You can also use Search to find a friend. On a phone, Instagram’s last step is Done at the bottom, which saves your changes.
The iPhone and Android steps are identical:
On iPhone:
- Tap Profile or your profile picture in the bottom right to go to your profile.
- Tap Menu in the top right.
- Below Who can see your content, tap Close Friends.
- Tap Select next to the people you want to add to your Close Friends list. You can also tap Search to search for a friend.
- To remove someone on your list, tap Done next to their name.
- Tap Done at the bottom to save your changes.
Checked against Instagram Help Center: Create a Close Friends list on Instagram.
On instagram.com, the list sits in Settings:
On the web:
- Click More in the bottom left, then click Settings.
- Click Close Friends below Who can see your content.
- Click Select next to the people you want to add to your Close Friends list. You can also click Search to search for a friend.
- To remove someone on your list, click Done next to their name.
Checked against Instagram Help Center: Create a Close Friends list on Instagram.
How to remove someone from Close Friends
Go back to the same Close Friends screen and tap Done next to their name. On a phone, then tap Done at the bottom to save the change. On instagram.com, clicking Done next to the name is the last step. Checked against Instagram Help Center: Create a Close Friends list on Instagram
To keep someone from seeing your stories at all, hide your story from them instead: it stops them seeing anything you add to your story in the future, but doesn’t hide your profile or posts. Checked against Instagram Help Center: Hide your Instagram story from someone
How to post a close friends Instagram story
Make your story as usual, then tap Close Friends at the bottom when you’re ready to share. The story disappears after 24 hours, and people on the list see a Close Friends label and a green ring around your profile photo.
The steps are the same on iPhone and Android; the computer version of the article has none.
On iPhone:
- Tap Create at the top or swipe right anywhere in Feed.
- Tap Story at the bottom.
- Tap Record at the bottom of the screen to take a photo, or tap and hold to record a video. To choose a photo from your phone's library or gallery, swipe up anywhere on the screen.
- When you're ready to share, tap Close Friends at the bottom.
Checked against Instagram Help Center: Share a story with your Close Friends list on Instagram.
The same article adds: “People on your close friends list will know they’re on it.” For what happens to a story once its 24 hours are up, see how long Instagram stories last.
How to share a Reel with Close Friends
Where your account has the option, tap Audience when you’re ready to share, select Close Friends, then share. Instagram’s story article says you “may also be able to share a reel” with Close Friends, so not every account has it. The reel article gives phone steps only.
On iPhone:
- Tap Create at the top or swipe right anywhere in Feed.
- Tap Reel at the bottom.
- Tap Camera at the top to record a clip or select photos or videos from your camera roll, then tap Next.
- When you're ready to share, tap Audience and select Close Friends.
- Tap Back in the top left, then tap Share.
Checked against Instagram Help Center: Share a reel with your close friends list on Instagram.
Before you share, note that on a Close Friends reel, list members can see each other. Instagram’s wording: “If someone on your Close Friends list likes, comments on or shares your reel, others on your Close Friends list will be able to see their username and how they interact with your reel.” Checked against Instagram Help Center: Share a reel with your close friends list on Instagram
Close Friends in Notes, the map and Limits
Three other features use the same list.
- Notes. When you leave a note, you choose between Followers you follow back and Close friends. A Close friends note is seen by close friends who follow you back. Checked against Instagram Help Center: Share a note with others on Instagram The rest is in our guide to Instagram Notes.
- The map. Meta’s 6 August 2025 launch post lists Close Friends as one of the audiences for your location on the Instagram map, alongside friends (followers you follow back), only selected friends, or no one. Checked against Meta Newsroom: New Instagram Features to Help You Connect (6 August 2025) Sharing is off by default and only works with accounts that follow you back. Checked against Instagram Help Center: About sharing your location with others on the Instagram map More in the Instagram map guide.
- Limits. Limit interactions can hide new comments and chats from everyone but your Close Friends, for up to four weeks at a time. Checked against Instagram Help Center: Temporarily limit people from interacting with you on Instagram
Does Instagram notify people when you add or remove them?
No. Instagram’s Close Friends article is direct: “People won’t be notified when you add or remove them from your list.” Nobody can ask to join either. Checked against Instagram Help Center: Create a Close Friends list on Instagram
Being on the list doesn’t stay secret, though. Instagram says members see a Close friends label when viewing your notes, reels or stories that lets them know they’re part of your list, and they may also see a green ring around your profile photo. Checked against Instagram Help Center: Create a Close Friends list on Instagram (what members see) Its story article puts it more simply: people on your list “will know they’re on it.” Checked against Instagram Help Center: Share a story with your Close Friends list on Instagram
Can you make a Close Friends story public, or set a list size?
Instagram documents neither. Its Close Friends article gives no maximum list size and no way to turn a Close Friends story public after you’ve shared it. Checked against Instagram Help Center: Create a Close Friends list on Instagram (no post steps, size limit or make-public option)Not verified You pick the audience as you share: the Close Friends story steps end with Close Friends, while the regular steps end with Your Story. Checked against Instagram Help Center: Share a photo or video to your Instagram story
Here’s what Instagram does and doesn’t document about the list:
| Claim | Documented by Instagram? |
|---|---|
| Share a story with Close Friends | Yes, with steps for the app |
| Share a reel with Close Friends | Yes, where available, with steps for the app |
| Share a note with Close Friends | Yes. Seen by close friends who follow you back |
| Share your map location with Close Friends | Yes, in Meta’s August 2025 launch post |
| Share a feed post with Close Friends | Mentioned, but no Help Center steps |
| People are notified when you add or remove them | No. Instagram says they aren’t |
| Someone can ask to join your list | No. Instagram says no one can request it |
| Members see each other’s likes and comments on a Close Friends reel | Yes |
| A maximum number of people on the list | Not documented |
| Turning a Close Friends story public after sharing | Not documented |
Can Outfeed post to Close Friends?
Most Close Friends sharing happens in Stories, so here’s how that maps onto Outfeed AI, which makes this guide:
Plan your Instagram feed posts in Outfeed AI
Close Friends on Instagram: FAQ
Does Instagram notify someone when you add them to Close Friends?
No. Instagram says people won’t be notified when you add them to your Close Friends list or remove them from it, and no one can request to be added. They see a Close Friends label on what you share with the list, and on a story, a green ring around your profile photo.
Can people see that they’re on your Close Friends list?
Yes, once you share something with the list. Instagram says members see a Close friends label when viewing your notes, reels or stories, which lets them know they’re on your list, and they may also see a green ring around your profile photo. Nothing is sent to them at the moment you add or remove them.
Is there a limit to how many people you can have on Close Friends?
Instagram doesn’t publish one. Its Close Friends article explains how to add and remove people but states no maximum list size, so treat any number quoted elsewhere as unconfirmed.
Can you make a Close Friends post public?
Instagram documents no way to switch a Close Friends story, or anything else shared with the list, to public afterwards. The audience is chosen as you share: a story goes only to the list if you tap Close Friends rather than Your Story, and a reel only if you select Close Friends under Audience.
Can you share Reels and posts with Close Friends, not just stories?
Reels, yes, where you have the option: tap Audience, select Close Friends, then share. People on the list can see each other’s likes, comments and shares on that reel. Instagram’s list article says you can share a post with Close Friends too, but no Help Center article gives steps for a feed post.