Instagram tests Stories with multiple audience lists

Instagram’s Stories is one of the standout features on the social media platform. Data shows that more than 500 million people engage with Stories daily, and a whopping 85% of all Instagram users post a Story every single day. Considering the platform boasts over 2.3 billion active users, that’s quite a substantial number, don’t you think? It’s understandable if you’re not keen on having your Story visible to everyone, especially after seeing these staggering figures. The good news is there might be a solution on the horizon.

Instagram is currently testing the capability to share Stories with multiple audience lists. The goal is to allow you to share Stories with smaller, more specific groups, providing better control over who gets to see your Stories. Adam Mosseri, Instagram’s head, shared details about testing this new feature on his Instagram broadcast channel.

Previously, Instagram introduced the Close Friends feature, allowing you to share Stories exclusively with a select group of your closest friends, keeping them hidden from the wider audience. To use the Close Friends feature, you first need to specify who you want in your Close Friends list. You have complete control over this list since no one can request to be added.

The new feature being tested goes beyond the Close Friends concept, enabling users to create multiple lists, not just one for close friends. For instance, you can have a list exclusively for your classmates, another for your co-workers, or one for family members. This way, you have the power to decide who sees what, emphasizing the importance of privacy (after all, not everyone wants to share their moments with over 2.3 billion people, right?).

A recent report revealed that Meta used public Facebook and Instagram posts to train parts of its new Meta AI virtual assistant. If this raises concerns, using features like Close Friends or the upcoming one being tested might be a wise choice. The new AI assistant is already rolling out to WhatsApp, Instagram, and Facebook.