Your Quick Answer:
The green rings on Instagram stories mean that those people who have uploaded the story are your close friends or you have added them to the close friend list.
They do get rid of this green circle around stories, there are three simple ways.
The first is – ‘Mute that person’s story. In the story section, go to that person’s story, tap and hold his profile picture and click on > “Mute”.
Second in – ‘Unfollow that person on Instagram’. Go to that person’s profile page > tap on – “Following” (on the drop-down arrow) and select – “Unfollow”.
You can also block him/her from your account. Open that person’s Instagram profile and click on the “Three dots” in the top right corner and select – “Block” then, choose the second option and tap on the “block” button in blue.

What do the green rings on Instagram stories mean:
The green ring that appears around the Instagram story circle means, that, you are in a ‘close friend’ list of the person who has uploaded that story.
Instagram has a very awesome feature named ‘Close Friends’.
The feature works in a way that, you have to select a few people from your Instagram following lists and add them under ‘Close Friends’. After that whenever you will post a story on your account, you will get an option to post it under the close friend mode, so only the selected people can see your story.
This feature is the best way to share your personal moments with only a few close people on Instagram.
Also, you can add or remove people from a close friend list whenever you like, they would not be notified either way.
What makes someone a close friend on Instagram:
The person who talks with you daily or every now and then keep a check on your social media stuff like photos and stories, tags you on memes, and share relatable post, and the list is never-ending.
Manually, the people you have added to the close friend list will appear with a green circle.
Close friends on Instagram are the ones who are likes, share, and comment on your posted stuff just like best friends on the social platform.
1. Daily Chat on DM
The people on your Instagram with whom you chat daily on DM (Direct Message = Chat-box) is considered your close friend.
The person with whom you share memes, tag on related posts, and gossip is your close friend.
2. Likes each other’s Stuff
The people on your Instagram who likes and comments on your posts and you also do the same on their posts and uploads, are the one who lies under the category of close friends.
3. Reactions to every post or Story
There are some people in real life and also on social media, who comment on your every post and send reactions to every story. These people are nothing but your close friends.
According to Instagram’s algorithm, the users who daily chat, share memes, like each other’s stuff, and react to every post and story are close friends.
4. People Added to the ‘CLOSE FRIENDS’ List
If you have added people to your close friend list then those are going to show as on green circle on their story.
How to Get Rid of the Green Circle on Instagram:
Following are the simple methods to get rid of the green circle around stories on Instagram.
1. Mute the Person’s Stories
Without removing the person from a list you can mute him.
When you mute someone’s story from your account, his/her story will not appear on your story tab. And the most amazing thing is that person would not get to know that you have ‘muted’ his story.
Now, let’s learn the steps to mute someone’s story:
🔴 Steps To Follow:
Step 1: First of all, open the Instagram app and stay on the ‘home’ page, which is the page, where the stories are displayed on the top.
Step 2: Next, go to the stories section and find the person’s story who you want to mute.

Step 3: After that, tap & hold their profile picture and some options will pop on the screen from the bottom.

Step 4: Tap on > “Mute” and then select > “Mute Story”.


That’s it.
To use this method the person whose story you want mute must upload the story.
This method is the best method to get rid of someone’s stories and the green circle.
2. Block them from your Instagram
If you block someone from your Instagram account, that means, you won’t get to see his/her new & old posts, new stories, and highlights, or anything related to his profile. That person will completely become an invisible user on Instagram.
Here are the steps to block someone from your account:
🔴 Steps To Follow:
Step 1: Open your Instagram app and go to the person’s profile, whom you want to block.
Step 2: On his/her profile page, in the top right-most corner, you will see “Three Dots”. Click on it.

Step 3: From the appeared option list, tap on > “Block” and select > ‘Block ____’ (second option) and hit > ‘Block’ button in bottom.


Now, that person will only be visible in your block list and nowhere else.
3. Unfollow them on Instagram
The second best way to get rid of someone’s story and the green circle is to ‘Unfollow’ them from your account. It does not matter if they follow up.
Stories and posts only appear on your feed when you follow the person, if you don’t then their stuff would not trouble your eyes.
So, let’s go through the steps to unfollow someone on Instagram from your account:
🔴 Steps To Follow:
Step 1: Open the Instagram app and go to that person’s Instagram profile.
Step 2: Open his/her profile and click on the drop-down arrow of ‘Following’.
Step 3: When you will click on ‘Following’ or its drop-down arrow, a few options will come on the screen.

Step 4: Click on > “Unfollow”, again click on “Unfollow” and done.


From now, that person’s story and the pictures will not come in your feeds.
The Bottom Lines:
The green circle around the story means that the person has added you to his/her close friend list and has also uploaded the story under the close friend mode. That’s why the circle is appearing green instead of pink-red.
However, if you do not want to see this green circle in your feeds, then the best way to get rid of it is, to mute that person’s story. This is the best method and that won’t even come to know that you have done this.
Apart from being mute, you can either unfollow the person or block him.
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