What to Do When Your Snapchat Best Friends List Doesn’t Reflect Your Strongest Friendships
You open up Snapchat, as you do multiple times a day, and head straight to your Friends page to see who made your Best Friends list today. But something seems off. The one friend you Snap the most isn’t at the top where they usually are. In fact, they aren’t on your Best Friends list at all. Meanwhile, someone you rarely talk to is chillin’ in the #1 spot. What gives?
If you’ve noticed your Snapchat Best Friends list looks wrong and doesn’t reflect who you actually Snap with the most, you’re not alone.
Many Snapchatters get frustrated when their Best Friends list doesn’t represent their strongest friendships and closest connections.
But before you panic and start frantically Snapchatting all your real besties to get them back to the top, take a deep breath. There are a few possible reasons why your Best Friends list may look out of whack, and the good news is there are ways you can troubleshoot to get it back on track.
Understanding How the Snapchat Best Friends Algorithm Works
First, it helps to understand the basics of how Snapchat’s Best Friends algorithm works so you know why it may sometimes be inaccurate.
Snapchat Best Friends are calculated based on your snap sending and receiving activity over the past week. The friends you have snapped back and forth with the most over the past 7 days will appear at the top of your Best Friends list in order.
So if you went on a trip with one friend and snapped them constantly, they may temporarily jump to the #1 spot because of the spike in activity. Meanwhile, your lifelong BFF who you normally talk to daily may get knocked down a few pegs if you didn’t chat quite as much over the past week.
The algorithm is also based on two-way communication. So even if you send someone a ton of snaps, they won’t make your Best Friends list unless they reciprocate and send snaps back to you too.
Essentially, Snapchat Best Friends is not meant to be a permanent ranking of your closest friendships. It’s designed to be fluid and reflect your recent interactions, changing dynamically based on how you use Snapchat week to week.
Common Reasons Your Snapchat Best Friends List May Look Inaccurate
Knowing how the Best Friends algorithm works, here are some common reasons why your list may look off:
– You snapped a new friend a lot recently. Maybe you met someone new and exchanged a ton of snaps while getting to know each other. Even if you aren’t super close yet, the spike in activity could send them to the top of your list.
– You connected with an old friend after not chatting for a while. Rekindling an old friendship could also land them at #1, thanks to the initial burst of catching up snaps.
– You’ve been chatting with one friend on another app more lately. If you’ve been connecting with your lifelong BFF through texting or Instagram DMs instead of Snapchat for the past week, they may drop down your Best Friends list temporarily.
– You went on a trip or to an event without your usual #1 BFF. If you spent a weekend snapping nonstop with friends who aren’t your top Best Friend, it can shake up the order.
– One of your frequently snapped friends was offline or didn’t open your snaps. Two-way communication is key. So if someone didn’t open or respond to your snaps, it brings down their score.
There are other potential reasons too – the main point is your Best Friends ranking is highly variable based on day-to-day changes in your snap activity and behavior. But not to worry, a temporary shakeup doesn’t mean your real friendships and connections have changed at all.
How to Get Your Accurate Best Friends Back at the Top of Your List
If your Best Friends order has been thrown off and you want your core squad back at the top where they belong, here are some tips:
– Snap your real besties more consistently for a week. Have an intentional Snapchat week where you make sure to have daily interactions with the friends you consider your closest social circle.
– Chat with your BFFs using Snapchat instead of other apps. Move more of your conversations over to Snapchat specifically so your activity gets counted.
– Remind friends to open your snaps. Since two-way communication is key, politely ask them to make sure they’re viewing and responding to your messages.
– Avoid mass snapping generic content. Flooding all your contacts with impersonal content can dilute your score with your real best friends.
– Don’t stress too much over the numbers. The list order doesn’t define your friendships. Focus on the quality bonding you’re doing.
Usually within a week or two of focused snap activity with your closest circle, your Best Friends list order will reflect your bonds accurately again. But don’t drive yourself crazy obsessing over the rankings either – Snapchat is meant to be fun!
What to Do If Someone Unexpected Keeps Appearing in Your Top Friends
Sometimes, you may have a friend who keeps ranking higher than expected on your Best Friends list, even though you may not consider them one of your absolute closest companions. This can happen for a few reasons:
– They may snap you very frequently, even if you don’t always snap them back just as often. Their outbound snapping volume may be high enough to keep their score elevated.
– Their snapping habits may have changed recently, leading them to interact with you more actively than normal.
– You may have connected with them a lot during a specific event or time period, and the spike is still impacting the algorithm.
– They might not have a very wide Snapchat social circle, so more of their activity is concentrated on you.
If you want to gently create a bit more distance with this person on Snapchat, you can:
– Respond to their snaps a little less frequently or avoid initiating snaps as often.
– Gradually shift more of your conversations with them to another channel like texting.
– Expand your own Snapchat social circle by snapping other friends more actively.
With some strategic but diplomatic adjusting of your snap behavior, you should be able to get your Best Friends order to better align without hurting any feelings. Be thoughtful in your approach if navigating personal relationships.
Preserving Your Best Snapchat Memories
Beyond your Best Friends list, many Snapchat users want to preserve their favorite snaps and memories on the app beyond the usual 24-hour expiration. Here are some creative ways to keep your best Snapchat moments alive:
– Use the “Memories” feature to save snaps, stories, and chats you want to replay.
– Screenshot fun snaps before they expire if you have the other person’s permission.
– Use Snapchat Spectacles to save first-person video snaps hands-free.
– Ask friends to replay snaps they previously sent you that you want to see again.
– Use creative tools like lenses, geofilters, stickers, and Bitmoji to customize snaps that are uniquely meaningful to you.
– Keep a physical photo album, scrapbook, or memory box to store sentimental snaps and momentos from your favorites.
– Send yourself snaps you want to keep using Chat, or save them to the My Eyes Only section.
With Snapchat being used to capture an increasing number of life’s fun moments, finding ways to cherish those memories can be meaningful. Get creative with preserving your most special snaps as mementos.
Snapchat Best Friend List Etiquette
Like any social media activity, there is also some basic etiquette around Snapchat Best Friends lists that helps avoid drama or hurt feelings. Keep these tips in mind:
– Don’t obsess over your list and make too big a deal of minor changes in the order. It’s not that serious.
– Avoid bragging or rubbing it in if you make someone’s #1 spot.
– Don’t flood one person with snaps just to get to the top of their list.
– Don’t take offense if you drop slightly on a friend’s list temporarily.
– Respect friends’ boundaries and stop snapping them if requested.
– Don’t pressure people to boost their snap activity just for the sake of their score.
– Don’t be afraid to mute friends who are spamming you with snaps.
Most importantly, focus on building meaningful friendships both on and off Snapchat. That’s what really matters, not who snapped who the most this week. Keep that perspective.
Analyzing Changes in Your Best Friends List Over Time
Looking at how your Snapchat Best Friends list evolves over weeks, months, and years can provide interesting insights into your social life and relationships. You may notice shifts like:
– Certain friends steadily rising to the top as your bond deepens.
– New friends skyrocketing up your list as you go through periods of hanging out more often.
-once-frequent top friends fading as you go through natural changes in life stages and interests.
– Different friends occupying your top spots during different seasons like school years versus summer breaks.
– Drops in your overall snap frequency as you enter busier life phases with jobs, kids, etc.
– Old friends suddenly popping up at the top after reconnecting from not talking for awhile.
– Consistent longtime besties who stand the test of time, occupying top spots for years.
Looking back on the evolution of your Best Friends can be a cool way to reflect on your changing social landscape and see how friendships ebb and flow over stages of life.
Comparing Snapchat Best Friends to Similar Social Media Features
Most major social media platforms have their version of a “Best Friends” feature now, but Snapchat’s version remains one of the most prominent. How does it compare to other apps’ implementations?
Instagram Close Friends – Lets you share Stories with a smaller circle. But there’s no rankings or scores.
Facebook Friendship Pages – Ranks friends based on your level of interaction over the years. But it’s kept private and not competitive.
Twitter Top Followers – Shows followers you interact with most, but it’s based on public activity, not private messages.
WhatsApp Broadcast Lists – Lets you easily message subsets of friends. But there’s no algorithmic list or status attached.
While other apps have their versions, Snapchat Best Friends really popularized the social concept of a ranked friends list and made it central to the messaging experience. And the ephemeral nature of snaps gives the feature a unique vibe. Snapchat still does “Besties” best!
Stay savvy about how the Snapchat algorithm works, but don’t lose sight of the real social connections that matter most with your friends both on and off your Best Friends list. Now get snapping!