Did you see a green circle on Instagram stories recently?
If you did, you might be wondering what the green ring/circle means.
More importantly, you might be wondering why there’s a green circle around a particular user’s profile, but not the others.
It can be quite confusing because the ring around Instagram stories can have multiple colors.
Some stories have a colored gradient, while others have a rainbow gradient.
But in this case, the story that you saw has a green circle.
In this article, you’ll learn what the green circle means on Instagram stories, how to get it, and more.
- What does the green circle mean on Instagram?
- How do you get the green circle on Instagram?
- What do the colors around Instagram story mean?
- How do I get rid of the green circle on Instagram story?
What does the green circle mean on Instagram?
The green circle on Instagram means that the person has added you to their close friends list.
In other words, only the person’s close friends (including you) can see their story.
If you see a green circle around someone’s profile, it means that you’re on their close friends list.
If someone adds you to their close friends list, only you and the other users that are in it will be able to see their story (if it’s circled in green).
In other words, if you see a green circle around someone’s profile, it means that the story was shared with their close friends list (and you’re in it).
On the other hand, the followers that are not on the person’s close friends list will not be able to see the story.
The close friends list is a feature where you can limit who can watch your stories.
Back in June 2017, Instagram announced that they’ll be releasing a feature called “favorites”.
This is due to the rise of private Instagram accounts with “selective” followers.
More than a year later, Instagram launched and renamed the feature to “close friends”.
For now, the feature is only limited to stories.
The “close friends” feature enables you to add people you trust/your best friends into a list.
If you’re not comfortable with sharing your Instagram story to all of your followers, you can choose to share it with your close friends list only.
This is much easier than muting people individually or creating a new Instagram account for the sake of privacy.
How do you get the green circle on Instagram?
To get the green circle on Instagram, you need to add people to your close friends list and share a story with it.
Once you’ve shared a story with your close friends list, you’ll have a green circle around your profile.
You’ll have a green circle around your profile if you’ve shared a story with your close friends list on Instagram.
If you’re looking to prevent some people from viewing your stories without muting or blocking them, you can utilize the close friends list.
Here’s a step-by-step guide on how you can add users to your close friends list on Instagram:
- Go to the home page of Instagram and tap on the camera icon on the top-left of your screen.
- Tap on “Close Friends” beside the “Your Story” icon.
- Tap on “Add to list”, then tap on “Get Started”.
- Find and select the users that you want to add by tapping on the “Add” button.
- After you’ve added the users that you want to add, share the story to your close friends list by tapping on “Close Friends”.
To share a story with your close friends list in the future, all you have to do is to tap on the green icon with a star beside the “Your Story” icon.
Afterward, there will be a green circle around your profile and only your close friends will be able to view it.
You can edit your close friends list at any time (e.g. add, remove).
Whenever you add someone to your close friends list, they won’t be notified of it.
Similarly, your followers will not be notified if you removed them from the list.
What do the colors around Instagram story mean?
There are five different colors on Instagram stories—orange/purple, gray, green, orange/green, and rainbow.
Each of these colors signifies different things/events.
Instagram has come a long way since its launch in 2010 and has released a ton of updates throughout the years.
These updates include the introduction of different-colored rings/circles around someone’s profile.
It can be quite confusing because there are several different colors on Instagram stories, and it’s hard to differentiate between them.
Fundamentally, there are five different Instagram story colors—orange/purple, gray, green, orange/green, and rainbow.
Here are the different types of story colors and their meanings:
| Story color | Meaning of color |
| Orange & purple gradient | The person has posted a new story. |
| Gray | You’ve already watched all of the person’s stories. |
| Green | You’re on the person’s close friends list. |
| Orange & green gradient | The person has added a sticker that celebrates National Hispanic Heritage Month. |
| Rainbow | The person has added a sticker that celebrates Pride Month. |
The color of your Instagram story can be changed depending on the type of sticker that you’ve added to it.
For example, if it’s National Hispanic Heritage Month, there’s a sticker that’s dedicated to it.
If you add a Latinx and Hispanic Heritage-themed sticker to your story, it will have a green and yellow ring/circle around it.
On the other hand, if you added a Pride-themed sticker to your story, it will have a rainbow ring/circle.
These stickers are for a limited time only, which means that you won’t be able to use them after the particular month is over.
How do I get rid of the green circle on Instagram story?
To get rid of the green circle on Instagram stories, you can either unfollow, mute, or block the user.
You have to either unfollow, mute, or block the user if you want to get rid of the green circle on Instagram (remove yourself from their close friends list).
If someone has a green ring around their profile, it means that they’ve added you to their close friends list.
In order to remove yourself from their close friends list, you need to block them.
Otherwise, you can unfollow or mute their stories if you don’t want to see them on your timeline.
The first option is to unfollow the user.
You can do so by going to their profile > following > unfollow.
When you unfollow the user on Instagram, you will no longer see their stories on your timeline even though you’re still on their close friends list.
Secondly, you can choose to mute the user’s stories; which is the most effective method out of the three.
To mute the user’s stories, go to their profile > following > mute > stories.
When you mute someone’s stories, they won’t be notified of it, and you won’t see their stories on your timeline.
The last method is by blocking the user, which I don’t recommend using.
When you block someone on Instagram, your profile will be hidden from them, and you can no longer view their posts and stories.
Consequently, you will be removed from their close friends list.
However, it’s best to mute the person’s stories instead of blocking them unless you want to prevent them from viewing your posts and stories as well.
Conclusion
Colors on Instagram stories such as the green ring/circle can be pretty confusing, especially for new users.
In this article, you’ve learned the meaning of the green circle on Instagram.
You’ve also learned the meaning of the 5 different colored rings/circles around Instagram stories and how you can get them.
In a nutshell, the green circle on Instagram means that the person has added you to their close friends list and has recently added a story to it.
You won’t be notified when someone added you to their close friends list, so the green ring/circle around someone’s story is an indicator of it.
Further Reading
Why Are Some Instagram Profiles Circled in Color?
What Does It Mean When The Following Button Is Green on Instagram?
How to Download Private Vimeo Videos (New Step-by-Step Guide)
