Snapchat’s best friends feature shows you your closest friends on the app based on how frequently you snap each other. Many Snapchat users wonder if and when their best friends list resets itself. The short answer is – yes, Snapchat best friends does reset about once a month. This is done to keep the list current and reflect your latest Snapchat friendships and interactions.
What is Snapchat Best Friends?
Snapchat’s best friends feature shows you who you interact with the most on Snapchat. You can view your own best friends list by going to your profile and tapping on the emoji icons next to the friend scores. The top 3 friends on your list are your #1 best friends.
Snapchat determines best friends based on the frequency of snaps, chats, reactions, and other interactions with each friend over the past 7 days. Friends with whom you interact the most will appear at the top of your best friends list.
When Does Snapchat Best Friends Reset?
Snapchat resets the best friends algorithm about once every month. The exact reset schedule varies from user to user. Some users have reported that their best friends list resets on the 1st of every month. Others have seen it reset around the 25th. There doesn’t seem to be a universal date for the reset.
When the reset happens, your best friends order will be recalculated based on your last month’s interactions. Friends you snapped daily last month but haven’t talked to much this month will likely drop down the list or fall off entirely. Friends you’ve been snapping more lately will move up in the ranking.
Why Does Snapchat Reset Best Friends?
There are a few reasons why Snapchat resets its best friends algorithm monthly:
- To keep the list current – Friendships and interactions naturally change over time. The reset ensures your top friends are those you interact with the most right now.
- To give other friends a chance – The reset allows different friends to rotate through the top 3 best friends spots and earn their Snapchat emojis.
- To incentivize activity – Knowing the list resets monthly motivates users to keep actively snapchatting their top friends to keep their streaks and status.
Overall, the reset mechanism allows your best friends list to remain dynamic and reflect who your real best friends are on Snapchat at the moment.
How to Tell if Your Snapchat Best Friends Reset
There are a few clear signs that your Snapchat best friends list has been reset:
- Your top best friends changed – The friends shown in your #1, #2 and #3 best friend positions are different than before.
- Old friends disappeared – Some friends who used to show up in your best friends list are now no longer there.
- New friends added – You see new friends show up who weren’t on your best friends list before.
- Snapstreaks reset – Some of your snapstreaks with friends have been reset back to 0 days.
You may also notice friends complaining about their top best friends changing unexpectedly or snapstreaks disappearing around the time your reset occurs.
How to Check Your Snapchat Best Friends
Here are the steps to view your Snapchat best friends list and see any changes after a reset:
- Open Snapchat and tap on your profile icon in the top left corner.
- Tap on the emoji icons next to your friend scores below your profile name.
- Review the list of friends shown here ranked by interaction frequency.
- Note the top 3 friends particularly since they become your default #1 best friends.
- Check back after some time has passed to see if your top friends change.
Doing this periodic comparison will clearly show if your best friends order got reset after the monthly algorithm recalculation.
How to Get Back on Someone’s Best Friends List
If you noticed you disappeared from a friend’s Snapchat best friends list after the reset, here are some tips to get back on it:
- Snap them more frequently – Snapping your friend daily tells the algorithm you want to interact.
- Chat and react to their stories – Chatting and reacting also boosts your interaction frequency.
- Send snapstreaks – Maintaining a snapstreak ensures you snap daily.
- Interact with their public story – Watching and replying to their public story helps.
- Send them personalized snaps – One-to-one snaps tell the algorithm you’re close.
With concerted effort, you can reclaim your spot on your friend’s best friends list by the time of the next reset.
Strategies to Stay at the Top of Someone’s Best Friends List
Here are some pro tips to keep your position at the top of a friend’s Snapchat best friends list long-term:
- Snap consistently every day – Snapping every day is key, rather than having a few days with a lot of snaps then no interaction for a while.
- Send personalized snaps – Generic mass snaps don’t carry as much weight as one-to-one intimate snaps.
- Use Snapchat as your main communication channel – The more you interact on Snapchat exclusively rather than on other apps, the better.
- Respond promptly – Quick replies rather than leaving snaps pending for hours strengthens your ranking.
- Send chat messages too – Chats help boost your interaction score in addition to snaps.
- Comment on their public story – Shows you pay attention to their public content as a close friend.
- View their story updates frequently – Consistently viewing their story helps as well.
Making your interactions with a friend a consistent daily habit on Snapchat is the number one way to keep your best friend status secured.
What Happens When You Remove a Best Friend?
If you decide to remove or block a friend who was one of your top 3 best friends, here is what happens:
- They are removed from your best friends list immediately.
- Their emoji will disappear from your profile.
- Your #2 best friend will take the #1 spot.
- Your #3 best friend moves up to the #2 spot.
- The next most frequent friend takes the new #3 spot.
- Your best friends order reshuffles based on your remaining friends.
So removing your #1 best friend triggers a mini reset of your list rankings. The deleted friend’s emoji will be gone until the next monthly algorithm reset.
What Happens if You Remove Snapchat?
If you delete your Snapchat account entirely, here is what happens to your best friends:
- You disappear from all your friends’ best friends lists immediately.
- Your friend emojis are removed from their profiles.
- Their best friends order will reshuffle with you gone.
- If you reinstall Snapchat later and add them back, you’ll have to rebuild your best friend status from scratch.
- Your entire Snapchat history and data will be deleted.
So fully deleting Snapchat erases your best friends status and interactions. Your friends lists will recalculate without you.
Maintaining Healthy Best Friendships on Snapchat
While it can be fun to compete for top best friend spots, don’t let it damage real friendships. Here are some tips for keeping best friendships healthy:
- Don’t obsess over status – True friendship is more than any app ranking.
- Don’t guilt or shame friends – Everyone has different Snapchat habits.
- Don’t read into changes – The list resets regularly, don’t take it personally.
- Talk in real life too – Don’t let Snapchat dominate your interactions.
- Give friends space – People go through different levels of activity.
- Have perspective – Best friends is ultimately just a social media algorithm.
The Snapchat best friends feature is meant to encourage more engagement on the app. But don’t let it undermine the meaningful relationships you have with your real-life close friends.