WhatsApp is getting an Instagram-inspired ‘Close Friends’ update | Technology News

2 min readNew DelhiUpdated: Feb 7, 2026 04:25 PM WhatsApp has been periodically adding new features to the app, making it more than an instant messaging platform. Now, a new Instagram-like feature may be making its way to the Meta-owned platform.
According to the WhatsApp tracker WABetaInfo, Meta has reportedly released a new feature that allows users to create custom ls for status updates, allowing them to organise contacts into curated ls.
Spotted on WhatsApp beta for Android 2.26.5.11, each l includes a group of contacts, a name and an emoji to differentiate between ls.
These custom-created ls is designed to save WhatsApp users from the hassle of adjusting their share settings every time and prevent them from appropriate contacts. It also includes an Instagram-like “Close friends” l, which lets users share status updates with their preferred contacts.

Here’s what the interface looks like. (Image Source: WABetaInfo)
As you can see in the image above, to share a status update with close friends, WhatsApp users will have to choose the contacts they want to add to the l. There are two ways of doing this: directly adding people from the status update privacy setting,s where they can choose contracts from a l or modify the l directly from the status interface.
While users can add or remove people from their close friends l at any point in time, the changes will only be reflected in the next status update. This means if a user shares a status update with a certain l and removes some users later, they will still be able to see the status.
WhatsApp has also added three other privacy options to share status updates. Once an update is shared, the selected contacts will see different coloured rings around the user’s profile picture who shared the status.Story continues below this ad
The ability to share a status update with “Close friends” is currently under development, with the publication claiming that it will be available in a future version of WhatsApp.
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