The order of your Snapchat best friends is determined by who you interact with the most on Snapchat. The friend you chat with, view stories of, and snap the most will be at the top of your best friends list. Snapchat tracks your interactions and ranks your friends accordingly.
How Snapchat Best Friends Work
Snapchat keeps track of your interactions with each friend over the past 7 days. This includes how many snaps you send back and forth, how many of their stories you view, and how frequently you chat.
Based on these interactions, Snapchat gives each friend a score. The friend with the highest score over the past 7 days appears at the top of your best friends list. The rest of your friends are ranked below in descending order based on their scores.
Some key things to note about Snapchat best friends:
- It is based on your interactions over the past 7 days only.
- The order can change frequently as you interact with different friends.
- You can have up to 8 best friends shown at one time.
- Both you and your friends can see the same best friends list.
Factors That Determine Best Friends Order
As mentioned above, Snapchat tracks your snaps, chats, and story views to come up with best friend scores. But not all interactions are weighted equally. Here are the key factors that go into the best friends algorithm:
Snaps Sent Back and Forth
The number of snaps sent between you and a friend is given the most weight in their best friend score. Sending more snaps back and forth will boost a friend up your list quickly. Picture and video snaps are counted, while chat messages do not contribute to the snap score.
Frequency of Chatting
Frequently chatting with a friend through Snapchat also boosts their best friend score, though not as much as sending snaps. The number of chat messages sent and the frequency impacts the score.
Viewing Stories
Viewing a friend’s story multiple times a day contributes to their score, but not as significantly as snaps and chats. Just opening a story briefly impacts the score less than watching the full story.
Recency of Interactions
Snapchat focuses on your interactions over the past 7 days. Friends you’ve interacted with more recently get a boost compared to 2 weeks ago. Maintaining daily interactions is key.
Initiating Interactions
Friends that you typically initiate conversations and snaps with first may get a slight boost in their score compared to friends who initiate equally as often.
Tips for Changing Your Best Friends Order
If you want to change the order of your best friends, there are some tips you can try:
- Snap your top best friend less for a few days, while increasing snaps with other friends you want higher on the list.
- Avoid viewing the stories of your top best friends for a while.
- Initiate more chats with the friends you want to move up the list.
- Send several snaps in a row to the friends you want higher. The algorithm tracks frequency.
- Focus interactions on one friend you want to move up for a couple days.
Essentially, shift more of your interactions and focus onto the friends you want higher on the list. It may take a few days for the order to change, but the algorithm will pick up on your shifted interactions.
Why Best Friend Order Matters
For many Snapchat users, having someone appear as their #1 best friend carries some significance and meaning in the friendship. Here are some reasons why best friend order matters to Snapchat users:
Popularity and Status Symbol – Having more best friends and higher up on the list is seen as a popularity boost by some.
Validates Friendship – Being top best friends can solidify a friendship and shows you are each other’s favorites.
Reassurance – A top spot provides reassurance that the friendship is strong and you are a priority.
Creates Competition – Some friends compete to have higher best friend rankings than others.
Exclusivity – Best friend list is limited to 8, so getting a top spot feels exclusive.
For these reasons, some users put effort into strategically interacting to maintain their desired best friend order. While best friend order is just an algorithm, it holds social significance for many.
How often does the order update?
The best friends order updates every day based on your interactions over the past 7 days. So the order can shift daily if your interactions change.
Can you have more than 8 best friends?
No, Snapchat currently limits your best friends list to 8 people. Other friends beyond the top 8 still get best friend scores, they just don’t appear on the main list.
What happens if you remove a best friend?
If you remove a best friend from your friends list, they will automatically be removed from your best friends as well. The next highest scoring friend will take their place.
Can you control the order?
Not directly, but you can influence the order by strategically changing who you interact with daily. But there is no way to manually reorder your best friends.
Can you hide your best friends?
No, your best friends list is public to your friends. There is currently no way to hide it. Both you and your friends can see the same best friend order.
Snapchat’s best friends order is determined by your snap, chat, and story view interactions over the past 7 days. The algorithm ranks your friends based on frequency, recency, and type of interactions.
Although best friends is just a list, it holds social significance for many users. You can influence the order by changing how you interact with each friend.