Alex Ruben
How To Add a Best Friend on Snapchat
Snapchat’s kind of weird when it comes to “Best Friends” — there’s no simple toggle or button to pick people. Instead, the app figures it out based on who you snap and chat with the most. If you’re trying to keep a certain friend on that coveted top spot, understanding how this works and how to nudge it in your favor can be a bit of a mystery. This guide explains what’s really going on behind the scenes, what causes your list to shuffle, and how to make sure your close friends stay on or get onto that list. Whether you’re all about maintaining your BFF status or just want to understand why some people seem to hang out at the top, this info should help clear things up.
How Snapchat Determines Your Best Friends
First off, Snapchat doesn’t let you manually choose your best friends — it’s all about your interaction patterns. Sending snaps and chatting regularly with someone makes it more likely they show up on that list. If you notice your BFFs aren’t showing as often as you want, chances are you’re not interacting enough, or maybe the app just needs a little nudge. Keep in mind, the algorithm is kind of unpredictable and not always transparent, so sometimes even active users get surprises. On some setups, the list updates quickly; on others, it takes a bit longer or doesn’t change much. Because of course, Snapchat has to make it harder than necessary.
How to Influence Who Shows Up as Your Best Friends
Here’s where it gets a bit tricky but doable: the more you snap and chat with someone, the readier Snapchat is to consider them close. Regular interaction ‘trains’ the app’s algorithm. Some say sending a streak — that little fire icon — helps, but honestly, consistent communication seems to be more effective. Also, if you’re trying to push someone higher, avoid heavy messaging or snaps to way too many people at once — that can dilute the connection or make the app less likely to bump them to the top. It’s kind of a game of steady, personal engagement.
What About Friend Emojis?
Snapchat uses emojis to give quick clues about your friendship status. Here’s what you’ll see and what it means:
- Yellow Heart: You are each other’s best friends — the goal for most people.
- Red Heart: You’ve been BFFs for two weeks, so it’s a sign of recent closeness.
- Pink Hearts: Over two months of mutual BFFs — a more serious badge.
This doesn’t mean you can manually set emojis; it just reflects your interaction rhythm. The emojis show up mostly when the app thinks your interactions are strong enough.
Extra Tips & Troubleshooting
Sometimes, despite your best efforts, your list refuses to update or doesn’t match your expectations. Here are a few tips:
- Be consistent: Send snaps and messages often to those you want to stay or appear at the top.
- Avoid overly generic or impersonal interaction — Snapchat seems to like genuine engagement.
- When in doubt, open the chat and send a snap or quick message now and then, especially if it’s someone you want to keep close.
- Sometimes restarting the app or even reinstalling can refresh your friend list display if it’s acting weird.
Note: Because Snapchat’s algorithm is kept under wraps, results can vary. On some machines this fails the first time, then works after a reboot or when the app updates.
Wrap-up
Building your Best Friends circle on Snapchat is mostly about consistent, genuine communication. No magic switch, no manual control — just time, interactions, and maybe a little patience. Keep snapping, chatting, and engaging like normal, and over time, the app should reflect the connections you nurture. If nothing seems to change, double-check your interaction patterns or consider reinstalling the app to clear any cache glitches.
Summary
- Snapchat picks your best friends based on how often you snap/chat with them.
- Interactions like snaps, chats, and streaks matter a lot.
- Friend emojis show your relationship status, but you can’t set them manually.
- Sometimes, the list updates slowly or unpredictably — patience is key.
- Restarting or reinstalling the app can sometimes fix display glitches.
Final thought
Hopefully this shaves off a few hours figuring out the wild world of Snapchat’s friendship magic. It’s kinda messy, but in the end, just stay active and genuine, and outcomes usually follow. Good luck managing your list and keeping your close friends close — or at least at the top of that weird but interesting Snapchat algorithm.