News India Live, Digital Desk: It often happens that some known or unwanted person adds you to his ‘Close Friends’ list, due to which you have to watch his personal stories and reels. Currently, there is no direct option on Instagram to remove yourself from someone’s list (unless you block them). But now Meta is testing a new tool to eliminate this social pressure.1. What is this new feature? (The Opt-out Control) According to this feature, spotted by reverse engineer Alessandro Paluzzi: Voluntary exits: Will allow users to leave someone else’s ‘green ring’ (Close Friends) circle. Warning message: When you leave someone’s list, Instagram will warn you that “If you leave this list, you won’t be able to see that person’s exclusive content until they add you again.”Peaceful Isolation: The purpose of this feature is to control your privacy and feed without blocking or unfollowing anyone.2. Why was this needed?Problem Solution (New Feature)Unwanted ContentYou will be able to decide whose ‘personal’ content you want to see and whose not.Social Pressure: A polite way to get out of someone’s inner circle without unfollowing them.Professional Boundaries: It will be easy to remove yourself if you are accidentally added to close friends by office colleagues or clients.3. When will the rollout take place? Current status: This feature is currently in the early development stage. Availability: Instagram has confirmed that its testing is going on, but the date of when it will be publicly released for all users is not yet decided. It is expected to appear in everyone’s app updates by mid-2026.[A mockup image of an Instagram profile settings page with a new button ‘Remove yourself from [Username’s] Close Friends list’]4. Other new premium features available on Instagram (2026) Not only privacy, Instagram is also working on some subscription based (Paid) features: Unlimited Audience List: Facility to create multiple lists for different groups. Follower Insights: Seeing which followers do not follow you back (Non-followers list). Stealth Viewing: Without being visible This step of Instagram is on the path of Snapchat, where there is already an option to remove oneself from private stories. This feature will prove to be a ‘boon’ for those who want to avoid unnecessary noise and unwanted content in their digital life.