‘This is almost foolproof and impossible to catch’: Woman says you can cheat on your partner via the Close Friends tab on Instagram. Here’s how

A woman recently went viral on TikTok after revealing another way a partner could be cheating on their significant other: Via their Instagram “Close friends” list. 

In a TikTok video that has now reached 3.5 million views, user Sofia Elizabeth (@sofiaelizabethsbackup) shared how she came upon the realization. 

“They’re cheating on you through the 'Close friends' tab on Instagram,” Elizabeth begins, explaining that social media makes it easier than ever to hide infidelity. She calls this method “almost foolproof and almost impossible to catch.”

Are they cheating through the 'Close friends' tab?

Elizabeth says she discovered this when she was interacting with a celebrity on Instagram. 

“I was just liking their photo just like everyone likes their photo when all of a sudden, they liked one of mine,” she explains.

What started as innocent likes soon turned into a “game of tag” as they began liking each other’s stories.

“Meanwhile, this entire time they do not follow me, and I don’t even follow them,” Elizabeth adds.

Things get even more interesting 

“All of a sudden I see that they put me on their close friends,” Elizabeth says. “I was freaking out because I was like, ‘Oh, my God,' like, ‘They know who I am.’”

In response, Elizabeth decided to add them to her own “Close friends” list, carefully curating her posts to see if they would engage. 

“I put up a photo where I’m like, ‘Oh, it’s so hot’ and then I put up the temperature of where I was,” she shares.

To her surprise, the person mirrored her post. “This person puts on their close friends, the temperature, the same one and says, ‘That's not bad,’” Elizabeth reveals. “They were responding to me through their close friends.”

She quickly realized they were using the “Close Friends” feature to communicate with her without leaving any trace.

“We are having full conversations through ‘Close Friends’ and the reason that this is so genius… is that even if [someone] was on it, she didn’t see the private conversation that was happening.”

Eventually, Elizabeth discovered that the person had a girlfriend, which explained their secrecy—and decided to reach out. 

“I did send a wild text being like, ‘Hey, girly, your man is cheating through the close friends,’” Elizabeth shares. 

The girlfriend responded kindly and didn’t blame Elizabeth, allegedly saying that her partner’s actions were completely hidden from her view.

“If you feel that someone is cheating on you, check the close friends,” Elizabeth concludes. It’s just so smart… maybe y’all already knew this, but I didn’t.”

How common is cheating on social media?

Elizabeth’s story is most certainly not the first cheating story to go viral on TikTok. 

For example, earlier this year, a woman said she found out her husband was cheating through the workout app Strava. Another TikTok user discovered her husband’s text messages with his affair partner through a baby monitor, and a third started suspecting infidelity because of her boyfriend’s Spotify Wrapped playlist. 

According to several reports and studies over the last decade, there is a correlation between social media use and infidelity in romantic relationships. 

According to a recent report by Wifi Talents, 13% of divorces happened because of “one or both partners spending excessive time on social media.” Moreover, the site said 33% of divorce filings in 2011 mentioned Facebook.

Viewers speculate about who the celebrity is 

In the comments, most users expressed curiosity about the mystery celebrity referenced in the video. Others provided their own theories.

“Hey weird question here. Any chance this celebrity was Liam Payne?” joked one user. 

“WhatsApp is even more genius with the hidden chats,” wrote another. “You can only see when you type the password in the search bar.”

“Brooo, I don't even have a GF and I feel like someone cheated on me,” said a third. 

@sofiaelizabethsbackup

CHECK ITTTTT ????????

♬ original sound - Sofia Elizabeth

The Daily Dot has reached out to Sofia Elizabeth via email and Instagram direct message. 

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