What Does It Mean When a Guy Adds You to Their Private Story? Our Explanation

To some people, a private story is a feature that has always been on social media, because that’s all they’ve known since their very first account. To some others who still remember the days of social media without private stories or even stories, this can come as another confusing feature to navigate.

Sometimes being able to see a private story won’t cause you much thought. Certainly, you’d be expected to see the private story of your friends, maybe even members of your family you’re particularly close with. But sometimes, being able to see someone’s private story might shock you.

As you might not expect to be close enough to someone for them to share it with you. At that stage, you might have many thoughts about the nature of your relationship with the other person. You might think, perhaps we are closer than I thought. Or, does this mean they value me higher than other people in their lives?

Whatever crosses your mind, it could cause quite a stir in your mind if the person you like added you to their private story. But what does it mean when you have been added to a private story? Does it mean the other person is interested in you romantically? Or does it simply mean they value you as a friend?

You might think, after all, I can see my friends’ private stories too, so what does it all mean? Here’s our explanation of what it means when a guy adds you to their private story.

What is a private story?

A private story on social media usually means user content that only a selected group of other users can view. A lot of social media platforms offer this feature, but the most popular ones would probably have to be Instagram and Snapchat.

On both Instagram and Snapchat, a private story is similar to a public story. You can share the same things on it, pictures, videos, and text. The only thing that changes is who can see it.

Say your account is public on Instagram, then only people you have granted access to your private story can see what you have posted, whilst basically, everyone on Instagram can look at your public story.

On Snapchat, private stories work similarly to how they would work if your Instagram account was private in the first place. Only the people you have chosen to see that story will be able to see it, whilst the rest of your friends who have not been added will be able to see it.

How do you know if you’ve been added to a private story?

There is no setting in your social media platform that can tell you which private story you have been added to. You certainly won’t get a notification if someone added you to their private story. The only way you would be able to tell is when the other person posts on their private story, and you can see it.

Private stories are indicated differently than normal stories. Usually, the colored ring framing the story will be a different color if it is a private story, and sometimes a padlock symbol will be at the bottom of the frame.

 

What does it mean if you can see someone’s private story?

When you see someone’s private story pop up on your friends’ story feed on any social media platform, it could mean a lot of things. But it doesn’t necessarily mean the other person might be romantically interested in you.

In fact, private stories are used amongst many friend groups to tell secrets and gossip about things. Here are a few of the main reasons why you might be able to see someone’s private story.

- They trust you

Why you are added to someone’s private story can mean a lot of things. One of the reasons would be that they trust you. After all, it’s called a private story. If you can see it, it means the other person trusts you enough to share it with you. Although it is shared on social media, and it is a platform that can hardly be considered private, people usually use this channel to tell their friends something they don’t want the whole world to know.

This could be their whereabouts, personal experiences of a place they’re visiting, or simply a selfie that would be unsightly to share with the public, but hilarious when shared within a group of friends.

- You are close enough to share inside jokes

Another common function of private stories, especially on Instagram where you can share posts of others around, is to share inside jokes between friends. Say you see a funny meme that relates to your friend group, people usually share it in their private story knowing those who can see it will understand exactly what the post relates to.

- They want to share something different from what they normally post

A private story can also be useful when someone wants to post content that appears wildly different from what they normally post. Say your Instagram feed is filled with aesthetic photos of places you’ve been traveling to or mouth-watering shots of delicious food you’ve been trying, it could be weird to post something completely off-theme amongst this carefully curated mix.

It could also be that your followers won’t understand why you have added this odd post into the mix. So, it is likely you will move this off-brand posting to a more private channel, where people know who you are and how you act off social media.

- They add everyone to their private story

This might sound like something that works completely against the purpose of a private story, but some people do choose to use this feature rather liberally. Instead of sharing something with a curated mix of people who they know would understand and enjoy what they’re posting, some people choose to add almost all their friends to their private stories.

Maybe they think not adding someone, even if only an acquaintance, to it would be rude. Maybe they don’t have anything wildly different or personal to share on their private story anyway, so it doesn’t matter if their less close friends see it. In any case, being added to a private story could mean nothing at all.

- Do they like you?

If someone you like adds you to their private story, it could certainly make you think more about your relationship with one another. Sure, it could mean they consider you a closer friend than others, but it could also mean nothing at all. Being added to a private story can be a completely platonic thing. And in this day and age, it’s pretty common to be on many of your friends’ private stories.

Final words

Whether or not it means the other person is reciprocating your feelings entirely depends on how they use their social media platforms. If they are the type of person with a neat feed and posts thematically, then being added to their private story could mean you’re close enough that they don’t mind sharing their more real side with you.

If they are the type to share everything on their feed, then being added to their private story might not mean anything at all.

It also depends on what they post on their private stories. Whether you understand or enjoy what they post could also tell you a lot about your relationship with them.

If one day you come across something on someone’s private story that’s personal or emotional when they don’t usually post content like this, then they probably value you as someone they can trust and someone they can turn to when they need. Whether this accounts for love, entirely depends on your interaction outside of private stories of course.

• NEXT ►