Instagram is experimenting with a significant profile change that could reshape how users perceive social connections on the platform. The app is currently testing an update that would replace your “Following” count with a “Friends” count, displaying only the people who mutually follow you back.
Highlighting Mutual Connections
Instagram confirmed the small-scale experiment to Business Insider, explaining that the goal is to make friend connections more visible and meaningful. The social media giant noted that “friends are central to the Instagram experience,” reflecting how the platform has evolved toward private messaging over public content sharing. As Instagram chief Adam Mosseri has emphasized, most interaction now happens in direct messages rather than on the main feed, making mutual relationships increasingly important to the user experience.
Discovery vs. Engagement Trade-off
However, the change presents a potential downside for content discovery. Currently, users can browse the “Following” lists of others to discover new profiles aligned with their interests. Switching to mutual follows would eliminate this discovery surface, as these connections typically consist of friends and family members rather than influential voices in specific niches. The shift could also change how people perceive influence and popularity, as follower-to-following ratios currently signal authority in certain spaces.
Instagram hasn’t announced plans to roll out this feature broadly, but the test suggests the company is considering how to better represent community relevance over raw follower counts. Whether this change will ultimately improve the user experience or hinder content discovery remains to be seen, though it clearly reflects Instagram’s ongoing transformation into a connection-focused platform rather than a purely public-facing network.