[DigitalToday AI Reporter] Instagram is testing a new feature that displays the number of mutually following friends rather than follower counts, in an effort to strengthen a friend-centred social experience.

Business Insider reported on Jan. 20 that the test converts the existing following figure on a user profile into a friend count. Only users in a mutual-follow relationship are counted as friends, so even if a user follows many people, the number of friends shown will be lower. This allows users to see their actual social connections more clearly.

Meta aims to encourage users to experience Instagram around connections with friends through this move. During the test period, some feed content will also be labelled “friends” rather than posts or following, and friend-centred content exposure is expected to increase. The change aligns with the goal of prioritising interactions with friends.

Instagram has recently introduced various features to address a weakening of the friend-centred experience as brands, influencers and AI-based content have increased in feeds. Examples include the Blend feature for sharing Reels jointly with friends, and a friends feed feature in the Reels tab that gathers content friends have engaged with, naturally linking to this test.

In this way, Instagram is continuing a strategy of offering an environment in which users can interact with and stay connected to the people they actually consider important, through a range of attempts to strengthen a friend-centred social experience.