How to Hide Instagram Story From Everyone Except One Person

Method 1: Use the Close Friends List

You can hide your story from all except one by using the close friends list. Anyone added to your close friends list has exclusive access to your stories. So, when you add a story to your close friends list, only the people added to the list can view the story. Others do not have access to such stories.

In this case, add that one person to your close friends list. The story will then be visible only to that particular person.

Step 1: Go to the profile screen of the Instagram app > tap the three-bar icon at the top.

Step 2: Select Close Friends.

Step 3: Search and select the person you want to add to your list. Remove others and tap Done.

Step 4: Now, create the story as per your preference. Tap the Close Friends button at the bottom. The story will be visible to the selected person only.

Tip: Follow this quick guide for some amazing tips and tricks for Instagram Stories.

What’s the Caveat?

Even though this process may seem effortless, there is a catch. The stories added to the close friends list have a green circle around them instead of the usual pinkish-red.

So, the other person will know that you have added them to this list. If the person is already on your close friends list, it’s the best way since you just use an existing feature.

Method 2: Using the Hide Story Option

This one’s a bit complicated as it is the reverse approach. Instead of selecting the person you want to share the story with, you’re selecting the people you don’t want to share the story with; i.e., everyone except the special person.

Step 1: Open the Instagram app > go to your profile > tap on the three-bar icon at the top.

Step 2: Scroll down to Hide story and live > tap Hide story and live from.

Step 3: In the next window, select everyone from the list except for the special person.

Step 4: Once done, tap the check icon (Android) or Done (iPhone).

However, There’s a Catch

When you use this method, the other person will not know you created the story especially for them. However, as you must have noticed, the method is tiresome since you have to select all your followers manually.

Further, if you have a public profile, your non-followers can still have access to your story. That’s because you have hidden your story from your followers only. If that’s an issue, you should make your profile private. For that, go to Instagram Settings → Privacy → Account Privacy. Enable Private Account.

Do Others Know When You Hide Your Story

No. Your followers will not be informed when you hide your story from them.

Although you can achieve the task of hiding stories from everyone by the above two methods, it would have been great if Instagram had a native option without any conditions.