make a private story on instagram

Do you want to make a private story on Instagram? If so, this guide will show you exactly how.

A private Instagram story is really useful because only the people you choose will be able to see it. So, you can post more personal photos or anything you would like!

Also, a private story is known as Close Friends on Instagram.

Lets get right in to this!

1. Open Instagram

Firstly, you need to open the Instagram app and log-in or switch to the account you want to create the private story on.

2. Add users to your private story

Secondly, you need to add users to your private story.

So, tap on your profile in the bottom navigation bar on the right hand side to be taken to your profile page.

profile button on instagram navigation bar

Next, you need to go to the top right and tap on the three horizontal lines. This is a hamburger icon for a menu.

three bars on instagram top right

Now, a menu will slide up and you need to tap on the “Settings” option with the gear icon. It should be one of the first options to choose from.

menu on instagram settings button

From the Settings, you need to select “Account” from the list of options.

instagram account button in settings

Once you are on the Account page, you need to tap on “Close friends”.

close friends button in instagram account settinsg

On the Close Friends page you can choose the Instagram users who will be able to view your private story. So, make sure you trust these people!

You can add or remove as many users as you would like.

close friends settings on instagram

Also, you can edit your Close Friends at a later point in time.

Once you have finished adding and removing your Close Friends, tap on “Done” at the bottom and you will need to go back to your Instagram profile.

done button on instagram

3. Post on your private story

Next, you need to go to the Instagram home page by tapping on the Home button in the bottom left of the navigation bar.

home button on instagram navigation bar

Then, swipe your finger from the left hand side of your screen to the right hand side to open up the Instagram camera.

Make sure “Story” is selected from the carousel of options.

story option on instagram camera

Now, you can take a picture or video.

Also, you can use an image or video from your camera roll as well.

You can take advantage of Instagram’s editing tools and add text or stickers to the post as well.

When you are ready to post your story, you need to tap on “Close Friends” and this will post your story to the user you have selected.

close friends button on instagram story post

To edit who can see your private story and your Close Friends, you can also hold on the “Close Friends” button and you can add additional users to the list.

How to see who has viewed your private Instagram story

You may be interested to see who has viewed your private or close friends story on Instagram.

1. Open your story

First of all, you need to go to your Instagram home page and tap on “Your story” in the top left.

your story button on instagram

Then, you can view the posts you have made to all of your stories.

Tap through the stories until you find the story you want to check.

2. Tap on “Activity”

Once you have found the story, tap on “Activity” in the bottom left.

instagram story activity button

This will bring up the insights of your story.

3. Check who viewed your story

You need to tap on the eye icon in the navigation bar.

eye button to to check who viewed your story instagram

Now you can scroll through the viewers of your story!

What are Close Friends on Instagram?

The Instagram Close Friends feature allows you to create a group of people who you can share stories with. You may find some stories are too personal to post on your public story, but instead you can post on it on your Close Friends story, which is also known as a private story, similar to Snapchat.

What is a private Instagram story?

A private Instagram story is primarily known as a Close Friends story. The term “private story” comes from Snapchat. The purpose of a private story is that you can share certain story posts with users you have chosen, also known as Close Friends. You may not want all of your followers viewing a post on your story, which is why a private story or a Close Friend story is useful!

Final words

Now you know how to create a private story on Instagram.

As we mentioned earlier, you can change who can view your private story and Close Friends story at any time by going back and following the steps again.

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