Instagram Testing 'Flipside' Feature to Let Users Add an Alternative Account to Existing Profile

Instagram's Flipside feature is in testing and a wider rollout will be based on the response the feature receives.

Written by Nithya P Nair, Edited by Siddharth Suvarna | Updated: 30 January 2024 12:26 IST

Photo Credit: Instagram

Instagram's Flipside would allow users to establish a private side to their profile

Highlights

Flipside feature for Instagram was first spotted by a developer on X
The wider rollout of Flipside expected to happen in the coming days
Flipside is different from Close Friends

Instagram's Close Friends feature that lets you limit your posts, Reels, Stories, and Notes to just close friends was expanded to more users in November last year. Now, the Meta-owned photo and video-sharing platform is bringing a new feature called "Flipside" to make the app feel more private. Instagram Head Adam Mosseri says the feature is currently in testing. The feature would allow users to create a secondary photo grid that only designated friends will be able to see. It will show as an alternative account to your existing profile and will allow you to post more personal pictures and videos with a select group of followers and friends.

In a Thread post on Monday (January 29), Instagram Head Adam Mosseri confirmed that the company is testing a feature called Flipside. “We're not even sure we'll launch it on Instagram,” Mosseri wrote in response to a user on Threads post. "On one hand it feels good to create a clear space that feels more private. On the other, it's yet another way to reach a smaller audience on top of secondary accounts and Close Friends. We'll see how people respond in the test, and iterate forward", he added.

Meanwhile, noted social media consultant on Threads posted a video showing off the Flipside tool that would allow users to create a private side to their Instagram pages where they could post more personal pictures and videos for a subset of their friends. The feature is said to be rolling out to select people for testing according to him. He states that the concept behind Flipside “essentially productise "finstas'” — a popular slang term for alternate personal Instagram accounts where people post their real-life photos — for the Instagram audience.

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The Flipside was first spotted in development in December last year by noted developer Alessandro Paluzzi (@alex193a) with a series of mockups shared on X. As per the images, Flipside refers to “a new space just for you and your friends” where “only the people you choose can see this side of your profile and what you share here.” Followers can access the Flipside account of a user by tapping on a button or swiping down on their main profile.

Like the main account, users would be able to set up different profile pictures and bios for their Flipside for a select number of viewers. The community guidelines from Instagram would apply to the new space as well.

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Is the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 the best foldable phone you can buy in India right now? We discuss the company's new clamshell-style foldable handset on the latest episode of Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

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Further reading: Instagram, Instagram Update, Instagram Features, Adam Mosseri, Instagram Flipside

Nithya P Nair

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Nithya P Nair is a journalist with more than five years of experience in digital journalism. She specialises in business and technology beats. A foodie at heart, Nithya loves exploring new places (read cuisines) and sneaking in Malayalam movie dialogues to spice up conversations. More