Instagram will soon let you turn your original account into a Finsta with ‘Flipside’

Gone are the days when you could hide your entire list of followers with the click of a mouse. In fact, if you lived through the age of Facebook custom privacy, Twitter Circles and Instagram Close Friends, you’re probably going to love the idea of Instagram Flipside.

Instagram is reportedly testing a new feature christened ‘Flipside’, which aims to do away with the popular trend of ‘finsta’ accounts. Here’s everything you need to know about it.

Firstly, what is a Finsta?

‘Finsta’, slang for ‘fake-insta’, is typically an alternate Instagram profile that allows users to create an alternate account on the social media smartphone app. This account is usually meant to be a more private, closed space for users to post photos that are otherwise deemed ‘uncool’ for their primary account.

ALSO READ: How to add song lyrics to your Instagram Reels

Instagram today is used for a variety of purposes, including showcasing work and having or maintaining professional connections. Finsta accounts allow users to post more liberally and to a limited audience. While Instagram did introduce green circles for posts in more recent times, it is also testing Flipside, a feature that could let users create a separate photo grid for the chosen ones.

What is Instagram Flipside?

Instagram Flipside will be another way to reach out to a smaller audience, but it is not to be confused with the Close Friends feature. The Flipside mode will reportedly give you a different view of your account and allow you to post photos on a separate grid. However, while doing this, your primary account and handle will remain the same. This move aims to cut down a surplus of secondary accounts for users and give users all the features of a Finsta account.

How will Instagram Flipside work?

Unlike a Finsta account, you won’t have to switch or log in every time you want to post on Flipside. According to multiple screenshots shared by users on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram has added a key icon at the bottom of the page, which will bring in a ‘flip’ animation and switch to the alternate account. Several users have also reportedly been able to change the bio and profile picture within their Flipside account.

However, with the new feature in question, users will have to additionally keep track of Flipside posts by their followers in a separate tab. And with Close Friends already operational, this may seem confusing, to say the least. That said, Flipside has only been made available to a small subset of test users, and Instagram is still considering the possibility of a mass roll-out for everyone. While we’re not sure if we will embrace the change, there’s no denying that it will cut down the gamble of having to remember multiple passwords!