Instagram is working on a long-requested privacy upgrade that could make sharing—and opting out—feel a lot more comfortable. Meta has confirmed it’s developing a feature that would let you remove yourself from someone else’s Close Friends list, giving users more control over who they’re privately included with on the platform. The feature is still in early development and isn’t being publicly tested yet.
Close Friends, introduced in 2018, is Instagram’s way of letting people share Stories, Reels, and posts with a smaller, hand-picked group instead of their full follower list. It’s been useful for more personal updates, but it also created an awkward limitation: if someone adds you to their Close Friends, you’ve had no built-in way to quietly step away from that private circle. Until now, the only “solution” was essentially to endure it or manage the relationship indirectly.
The new tool was first spotted in an internal prototype by reverse engineer Alessandro Paluzzi, who’s known for uncovering features while they’re still being built. In the version he found, Instagram warns users that leaving someone’s Close Friends list means you’ll no longer be able to view that person’s Close Friends-only content unless they add you back again later.
That small detail matters because it makes the action clear and reversible only through the other person—helpful for privacy, but also a reminder that Close Friends is still controlled by the list creator. Even so, the option to opt out could be a welcome change for anyone who prefers not to be included in certain private audiences, whether for personal boundaries, social comfort, or simply reducing unwanted closeness online.
Of course, a feature like this could also stir up feelings. Some users may take it personally if someone leaves their Close Friends list, even though people might do it for neutral reasons—like cleaning up their feeds, limiting social pressure, or separating online connections. From a user-control standpoint, though, an opt-out button makes Close Friends feel less like something that happens to you and more like something you can manage.
Instagram wouldn’t be alone in offering this kind of control. Snapchat, one of its major competitors, already allows users to remove themselves from someone’s private story, which is a similar concept to Close Friends.
As with many internal prototypes, there’s no guarantee this Close Friends removal feature will ever roll out widely, and Meta hasn’t shared a timeline. But the fact that it’s being explored suggests Instagram is paying attention to the growing demand for more privacy options and less socially awkward friction.
This isn’t the only area where Instagram is pushing for more customization. Meta is also preparing to test new subscription offerings that promise access to exclusive features across Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp. While Meta hasn’t officially confirmed the full feature list, the prototype information shared by Paluzzi suggests an Instagram premium subscription could include perks like creating unlimited audience lists, seeing which followers don’t follow you back, and viewing Stories without the poster knowing.
Meta’s stated goal for these upcoming subscriptions is to offer extra control and special features while keeping the core app experience free. The company also appears to be experimenting with a range of subscription bundles, potentially offering different premium tools depending on the app.
For users, it signals a broader shift: Instagram seems to be moving toward more granular control over who sees what—whether that’s through privacy-focused changes like leaving Close Friends lists or paid tools designed to customize how you share, connect, and browse.
