Facebook is currently in the process of creating a new feature for its Messenger platform, inspired by Instagram’s Close Friends functionality. This upcoming feature, known as “Favorites,” will enable users to selectively share content with a handpicked group of close friends. The existence of this feature was initially uncovered by Jane Manchun Wong, an application researcher, and later confirmed by Facebook themselves in a statement to TechCrunch. This development mirrors the concept behind Instagram’s Close Friends feature, which was introduced by the social media giant in the previous year.
An Inner Circle Sharing Feature for Messenger
Facebook Favorites is an upcoming feature that empowers users to manually select specific friends to be part of their inner circle. Once chosen, these friends will have access to the content shared through Messenger, including stories and camera posts.
It serves as a middle ground between sharing your Facebook story with all your friends and sending it privately via direct message. It’s important to note that unlike Instagram’s Close Friends feature, Facebook emphasizes that Favorites is not intended to limit the visibility of your actual Facebook story.
Favorites seem to be an attempt to encourage people to share more on Facebook. Especially, it helps to share without worrying about a growing list of casual acquaintances accumulated over the years. It’s a problem we were writing about in 2014 and, if my own Facebook friends list is an indication, the problem has only gotten worse in later years.
The function also aligns with the attempts of Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg to convert the company’s social networks into a more privacy-focused communications platform that is the digital equivalent of a living room rather than a plaza. the city.
Facebook already has a similar feature called Friends Lists, which allows you to classify your Facebook friends into Close, known and restricted Friends. However, it seems that Favorites could offer a simpler approach, with a single list of favorite friends to cultivate, similar to the Instagram approach.
The new Facebook Favorites feature is currently in the prototyping stage. And, it is early enough that the company has not even officially started testing it internally. That means it could change a lot before watching an official release, if it ever launches.