Following in the footsteps of Facebook’s “snooze button,” where users can quiet some of their louder Facebook friends by putting a moratorium on that friend’s posts showing up in the user’s newsfeed, Instagram will soon offer a "mute button" that will work essentially the same way.

Designed to bridge the gap between two extremes — being constantly annoyed by a friend’s posts and unfollowing them altogether, thereby potentially offending them — Instagram will offer users the chance to simply “hide” that friend’s posts, without their knowledge.

Described as a tool for “managing complex social dynamics," Instagram is featuring the mute button as just another component that allows users to customize their feeds so they see only what they want to see.

Users need only click on the “…” menu that appears beside an account handle and select “Mute Posts.”

Luckily, if a user has a change of heart, they can easily remove the mute button and they can also visit that friend’s account to see what they have missed since muting that friend.

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