Snapchat determines your best friends by looking at how often you snap back and forth with your friends, as well as the recency of your interactions. The friends you interact with the most frequently and recently will appear at the top of your best friends list.
What factors determine Snapchat best friends?
There are two main factors that go into calculating your Snapchat best friends list:
- Snap frequency – How often you send snaps back and forth with a friend. The more you snap with someone, the higher up they’ll appear.
- Snap recency – How recent your snaps are with a friend. Friends you’ve snapped more recently are prioritized over those you haven’t snapped in awhile.
So your best friends are determined by a combination of snap frequency and recency. The friends you interact with the most and have the most recent activity with will be at the top of your best friends list.
How is snap frequency calculated?
Snapchat looks at the total number of snaps you’ve sent back and forth with each friend over time. The more you snap with someone, the higher your snap frequency, and the more likely they are to be a best friend.
This number includes:
- One-on-one photo and video snaps
- Chat messages
- Group snaps
- Story replies
- Replayed snaps
All of your snap activity over time is counted to determine the frequency of your interactions. Friends with the highest totals will rank higher when calculating best friends.
How is snap recency calculated?
Snapchat also looks at how recent your snaps are with each friend. Friends you’ve interacted with more recently are weighted more heavily than old interactions.
For example, if you snapped Friend A yesterday and Friend B a month ago, Friend A would be ranked higher in your best friends list because the interaction was more recent.
Recency also takes precedence over frequency in some cases. You may snap with Friend C less overall than Friend D, but if your chats with Friend C were yesterday and your chats with Friend D were weeks ago, Friend C would still rank higher.
How often does the best friends list update?
Snapchat refreshes your best friends list daily. Every day it recalculates your scores based on your snap activity over the past 24 hours.
So if you suddenly start snapping a lot with someone new, they could move up into your best friends within a day or two. And if you stop interacting with a current best friend, they may drop down or fall off the list.
Does opening snaps matter for best friends?
Yes, opening snaps from friends also contributes to their best friend score. When you open a snap from someone, it signals you are actively engaging with that friend.
Snapchat sees opened snaps as a proxy for interest in that friend. The more of their snaps you open, the more you’ll interact, and the higher they may rank in your best friends.
Do chat messages count towards best friends?
Yes, chat messages are also factored into the best friend algorithm. The number of chats you exchange back and forth with a friend contributes to your snap frequency.
So if you tend to message certain friends more than snap them, your chat activity will boost their ranking. Chatting regularly with a friend can help them become a best friend.
Do group snaps count towards best friends?
Group snaps and messages contribute less per person than one-on-one snaps, but they do still count towards your interactions with each member of the group.
If you frequently group snap with the same people, it will increase their scores and make them more likely to show up as best friends over time.
Do Snapchat stories affect best friends?
Interacting with friend’s stories can also influence their best friend ranking. Things like viewing their story, sending chat replies, and re-watching their stories all signal interest and engagement.
The more you view and engage with someone’s story, the more weight it will carry when calculating your best friend scores.
Does having a shared Snapstreak affect best friends?
Yes, having a shared Snapstreak with someone is a strong signal that they are one of your go-to friends on Snapchat. The longer your streak, the more weight it will carry.
Friends you have 100+ day streaks with will get a big boost in their best friend ranking, as long streaks indicate consistent, ongoing interaction.
Can you have a best friend who you don’t Snap often?
It’s possible but unlikely. Because Snapchat weighs snap frequency and recency so heavily, most best friends will be people you snap with regularly.
However, in some cases your interactions with a friend may be infrequent but very recent. If you haven’t snapped in awhile but then exchange a few snaps, this can temporarily boost their ranking due to the recency component.
But in general, lasting best friend status requires ongoing, frequent snaps over time.
Does sending more snaps give someone a higher best friend score?
Yes, consistently sending more snaps to a friend will signal greater interest on your part and boost their ranking. It shows you are putting more effort into engaging with them.
For example, if you send 5 snaps for every 1 they send back, this imbalance contributes to their score increasing faster than peers where snaps are more equal.
Does receiving but not opening snaps hurt a friend’s ranking?
Potentially. If you frequently receive snaps from a friend but don’t open them, Snapchat will interpret this as lower interest and engagement on your part. Over time it could hurt their best friend ranking.
To maintain their position, be sure to open snaps from your best friends. This confirms you are still actively interacting within your friendship.
Can you remove someone from your best friends list?
There is no direct way to remove or demote a friend from your best friends list. It’s calculated algorithmically based on your interactions.
But you can indirectly influence it by reducing how often you snap someone. If you want them to fall off your best list, cut back on snapping and try to let the conversation fade naturally.
Why do some best friends have emojis next to their name?
The emoji next to a best friend’s name represents your #1 best friend. This is the friend you have interacted with the most over the past month.
The emoji provides a visual indicator of your very top best friend, distinguished from regular best friends.
The emoji will shift between friends over time based on your most frequent interactions.
Why don’t some friends show up in my best friends list?
If you notice a friend is missing from your best friends list, it likely means you haven’t snapped them enough recently to make the cut.
Best friends prioritizes your most recent, frequent interactions. If your snaps with someone have fallen off, they’ll disappear from the list to make room for friends you engage with more now.
To get a friend back on your best list, make an effort to increase your snapping and chatting with them again.
Can you have more than 8 best friends?
Right now Snapchat only displays your top 8 best friends. But your full ranking likely contains more than 8 friends if you’re an active user.
Think of the best friends list as showing you the friends in the top spots of your rankings. There are additional best friend scores being calculated further down the list as well.
Why does my best friends list change so much?
Frequent changes in your best friends list are very common, especially for active Snapchat users. This is because the rankings are re-calculated every day based on your latest activity.
As you snap different friends on different days, the scores shift around causing the 8 top spots to turnover. Don’t take changes in your best list too personally!
Can I see my full best friends ranking?
Unfortunately Snapchat does not provide a way to see your full best friends ranking. The list visible on your profile will always be limited to your top 8 friends.
The exact ranking algorithm and scores are kept private by Snapchat. But you can estimate who might be next in line based on who you interact with frequently.
In summary:
- Snapchat calculates best friends based on snap frequency and recency
- All snaps and chats are counted when measuring interactions
- Best friends list updates daily as scores change
- Frequent changes in the list are normal
- Top friends have emojis but you can have more best friends
- To move up the list, snap someone more consistently