Seeing where you rank on a friend’s Snapchat best friends list has long been a tricky endeavor. Unlike other social platforms, Snapchat does not have a built-in way to view your exact position in a friend’s inner circle. However, over the years Snapchat users have discovered some clever workarounds to get an idea of their standing on someone’s BFF list.
In this guide, we’ll walk through everything you need to know about Snapchat best friends lists and how to estimate where you are in your friends’ hierarchies. We’ll also provide some tips for improving your ranking if you find you’re lower than expected.
Understanding Snapchat Best Friends
Snapchat’s best friends feature first launched in 2015. It was designed to showcase your closest Snapchat connections by displaying your top friends on your profile and in the Chat section of the app.
Your Snapchat best friends list is ranked based on your messaging patterns and interactions over the previous weeks. The more often you snap and chat with someone, the higher up they will appear in your inner circle. Best friend status is updated every week.
There can be up to 8 best friends displayed in your list at one time. Your #1 best friend shows up beside your name on your profile, while the full ranked list of top friends is visible when you tap on your profile icon or into Chat.
How Snapchat Best Friend Rankings Work
Snapchat has never revealed the exact algorithm it uses to calculate best friends, but through trial and error Snapchatters have reverse engineered the basics of how it works.
Here are some key factors that are known to influence your position on someone’s best friends list on Snapchat:
- Frequency of snaps sent back and forth
- Regularity of chatting or messaging
- Response time to snaps and chats
- Unique interactions like video notes or live video chats on Snapchat
- Watching the other person’s story and them watching yours
- Physical proximity and shared location data
Essentially, Snapchat tracks all of your reciprocal communication and activity with other users. The more deeply engaged you are with someone, the higher your ranking will climb.
Why You Can’t See Your Exact Best Friends Position
Many Snapchat users have wondered why there isn’t a direct way to see exactly where they stand in a friend’s best friend lineup. This information is intentionally left opaque by Snapchat for a couple reasons:
- To focus on quality connections over rankings. Snapchat wants to encourage meaningful interactions, not superficial point scoring.
- To avoid social competition or jealousy over standings. Explicit hierarchies could undermine close friendships.
- To keep their algorithm private. The mystery around the algorithm prevents gaming the system.
While your precise ranking is hidden, there are still a few tricks long-time Snapchatters use to get a general sense of their best friend status.
How to Estimate Your Spot on Someone’s Best Friends
Check Your Shared Snapstreak
One of the easiest ways to get a rough idea of your position on your friend’s list is to look at your shared Snapstreak. This number represents how many consecutive days you’ve snapped each other.
Since frequent snapping is a key factor for best friends rankings, you can assume that the higher your Snapstreak, the more likely you are to be ranked near the top of their list.
For example, if you and your friend have a 60 day Snapstreak, there’s a good chance you will appear in their top 2-3 best friends. Meanwhile a streak of 20 days probably puts you more middle of the pack.
Note Your Emoji
Another tactic is to look at the emoji next to your name in your friend’s chat. The emoji they set for you offers clues into how highly they rank you.
If your friend set a custom emoji like a crown ???? or heart ???? for you, it’s a sign you’re probably one of their top best friends. More generic emoji like a smiley ???? or thumbs up ???? tend to indicate you’re further down their list.
See Who Appears First in Chat
You can also gain intel based on the order friends appear in your Chat screen. While the list doesn’t perfectly match best friends rankings, friends tend to be ordered based on your communication frequency.
If you consistently appear near the top of your friend’s Chat list, it’s a good bet you’re in their top best friends. Lower down could mean you have more work to do!
Watch Their Stories
Viewing your friend’s Story and seeing if they view yours is important best friend activity. Try to watch their Stories regularly and see if they reciprocate. If so, your rankings are likely intertwined!
Pro tip: you can secretly see who watches your Stories by going into Settings > View My Story > tap the 3 lines.
Monitor Your Shared Locations
Snapchat leverages location sharing to inform best friends rankings. Check if you and your friend have shared your locations with each other for an extended time.
Consistent location sharing signals you keep each other in the loop on your daily lives. This boosts your best friend status.
How to Improve Your Best Friend Standing
Want to upgrade your position on your friend’s Snapchat best friend list? Here are some proven techniques to climb the ranks:
- Snap consistently every day
- Initiatesnaps and chats, not just respond
- Use interactive Snapchat features like Bitmoji
- Reply rapidly to messages
- Send video snaps and notes
- Watch Stories and share reactions
- Reminisce and react to Memories
- Play Snapchat games together
- Share your location
The key is to demonstrate that you value your friendship on Snapchat itself. The more ways you interact and respond on the platform, the higher your best friend ranking will go.
Using Snapchat Plus to See Your Exact Standing
While free Snapchat users are left guessing about their precise best friend standings, those who pay for Snapchat+ get special perks including exact ranks!
With a Snapchat+ subscription you unlock the ability to:
- See your exact #1 Best Friend
- View your full Best Friends ranking
- See how long you’ve been on someone’s Best Friends list
This inside info lets paying users know precisely where they stand in each friend’s inner circle. It eliminates the guesswork and gives definitive insight into your importance to friends on Snapchat.
Of course, the downside of this perk is it also reveals your personal rankings to any of your friends who have Snapchat+. So if you want secrecy around your own inner circle, it’s something to be aware of.
But for most Snapchat+ subscribers, the uncensored view into Best Friends standings is a prime reason to upgrade from free Snapchat. It transforms the feature from a mysterious algorithm into a concrete pecking order!
Using Your Best Friend Status Strategically
While Snapchat friend rankings are primarily for fun between friends, some strategic Snapchatters use Best Friends tactically too.
For example, influencers may aspire to reach #1 Best Friend status with collaborators, while businesses try to get top ranking with their loyal fans and customers.
Reaching the top spots requires actively nurturing those relationships on Snapchat with highly engaged snapping, chatting, reacting and more. Once attained though, top Best Friend status can strengthen partnerships and loyalty.
Snapchat power users also recommend keeping your own Best Friends list diverse by mixing up your Snap recipients. Always snapping the same one or two friends may alienate others and knock them out of your top friends entirely.
Balancing your Snap activity helps ensure a wide inner circle and retains multiple strong connections on Snapchat.
Final Tips for Snapchat Best Friends
Here are some final tips to summarize how to see and improve your Snapchat Best Friend standing:
- Check your Snapstreaks, chat order, emoji, locations and story views for clues about your ranking.
- Boost your ranking by snapping consistently, initiating chats, using interactive features, and quickly responding.
- Paying for Snapchat+ lets you see exact Best Friends order and history.
- Leverage your top spots strategically with collaborators or loyal fans.
- Remember to snap a variety of friends to keep your own inner circle diverse.
While Snapchat keeps the exact math a mystery, these tips will help you better estimate and elevate your positioning on your friends’ Best Friend lists. Just remember friendships on Snapchat are about quality, not quantities. If you focus on nurturing meaningful connections, the rankings will take care of themselves!