The Instagram feature that lets you share Stories with a select group is Close Friends.
Instagram introduced Close Friends in November 2018 to let users share Stories with a private, user-managed audience instead of all followers or the public. The feature addressed a common social-media problem: people often wanted to post casual, personal, or sensitive updates without showing them to colleagues, acquaintances, or every follower.
A Close Friends list is private; only its owner can see and edit it, and Instagram does not notify people when they are added or removed. When a Story is shared with that list, viewers see a green ring around the poster’s profile photo, distinguishing it from the usual Story ring.
The feature is sometimes confused with a private account or a separate “Private Story,” but it is neither. A private account restricts who can follow the account, while Close Friends controls the audience for particular Stories. Instagram Stories themselves launched in August 2016, borrowing a disappearing-content format popularized by Snapchat.