Insta fanatics have been creating Finstas (or ‘Fake Instagram’ accounts) since the dawn of time. But an upcoming feature, called Flipside, might legitimize alternative spaces where users with public profiles can post more privately. Here’s everything you need to know about Instagram’s Flipside feature, what it is, and how it compares to the already existing ‘Close Friends’.
What is Flipside on Instagram?
Flipside is a new feature that will allow Instagram users to create a space that is different from their official profile. Without having to sign up again, one will be able to add a different name, profile picture, and bio and choose who gets to see their flipside profile.
The idea is to let users share a more private side of their lives with friends. Users can set up their profile by ‘removing everyone’ and starting afresh, if they so choose. The Flipside profile will be differentiated from the main account by the ‘Key’ icon in the bottom right corner of the profile, or next to the posts.
Flipside released for some users
Flipside has been in the works for a while, and it appears that it’s being released to a select few users for testing. Interestingly enough, Threads user girlinwhiteglasses, showed concern over the state of the feature. A test post that was shared with nobody was still viewed 39 times, highlighting that Flipside still needs some work to make it truly private, which is what Instagram is going for.
How is Flipside different from ‘Close Friends’?
Instagram already has a ‘Close Friends’ feature that lets users create a list of followers with whom they can share their stories and posts. When compared with it, Flipside seems quite the headscratcher. Perhaps Flipside is a way for Instagram to rein in unnecessary Finsta accounts. Or perhaps it is to give a more complete private space to those who have a public account, an alternative to posting for their general followers. But many users also have two linked accounts that they can switch between by simply double-tapping on the profile icon.
Whatever the intended use case may be, we’ll know more about it when Instagram launches Flipside for everyone, hopefully in a manner that doesn’t seem undone.
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