FINSTA

What Does FINSTA Mean in a Text?

The Quick Answer

FINSTA means "Fake Instagram."

More Observations...

FINSTA means "Fake Instagram." A FINSTA is a combination of the words fake and Insta (short for Instagram). It is a second Instagram account with different content to a real Instagram account (RINSTA). Whereas a user's real Instagram might have several hundred or thousand followers, a FINSTA likely has a much smaller following, consisting mostly of friends and family. A user with a FINSTA will post pictures they only want their closest friends seeing instead of their regular Instagram followers. On Instagram, there's a lot of pressure to have followers and engagement, users (usually young people) will have a fake account because they aren't supposed to be taken seriously and it doesn't matter how many posts or followers you have. Because followers don't matter. FINSTAs are mainly kept private, and a user's real name isn't obvious from the account name. Instagram started in 2010, and by 2015 this distinction between "real Instagram" and "fake Instagram" was already being observed. The images on a FINSTA are those that users don't want associated with their own name or public account, often to hide activity from parents, partners, or schools. It can also provide them anonymity from struggles with mental health or sexuality.

Image for FINSTA

When I write FINSTA, I mean this:

[Finstas can also act as a safe space for teenagers to share how they're really feeling with a select group of followers.]

Summary of Key Points

"Fake Instagram" is, by far, the most common meaning for FINSTA when it is used in a text. (Bear in mind that it could have another meaning if used in a different context.)