Facebook’s featured friends section showcases a small selection of friends at the top of your news feed. This section provides an easy way to check recent updates from your closest friends on Facebook. But how exactly does Facebook determine which friends to feature?
What are Featured Friends?
The featured friends section appears at the very top of your Facebook news feed on desktop and mobile. It shows profile icons and names for up to 7 friends. Clicking on a featured friend’s icon takes you to a small box highlighting their recent profile updates, shared posts, and photos.
This lets you quickly see what your featured friends have been up to recently. You don’t need to scroll through your whole news feed to check on updates from your inner circle.
Who Gets Featured?
Facebook uses a personalized algorithm to select which friends appear in your featured section. The algorithm considers multiple factors, including:
- How often you interact with the friend’s content
- How recently you’ve interacted with the friend
- How many mutual friends you share
- How active the friend is on Facebook
In general, the friends who show up are ones that you frequently view and engage with on Facebook. These are people you have close, active connections with on the platform.
Interactions Impact Selection
Interacting with someone on Facebook makes it more likely they’ll become one of your featured friends. Ways you can interact include:
- Viewing a friend’s profile or posts
- Liking or commenting on a friend’s posts
- Tagging a friend in your own posts
- Chatting with a friend on Messenger
The more often you do these types of activities with a friend, the stronger your interaction signal is to Facebook’s algorithm. Friends with the highest levels of interaction get prioritized for the featured section.
Recency Matters Too
It’s not just the quantity of interactions that matter. How recently you’ve interacted with someone also impacts the algorithm’s selections. Friends with recent interactions get weighted more heavily for featured positions.
For example, a friend you frequently interacted with 6 months ago but haven’t viewed recently would be less likely to show up than a friend you interacted with yesterday.
Mutual Friends Boost Selection Chances
Having lots of mutual friends with someone also gives their chances of being featured a boost. This signals to Facebook that this person is likely part of your inner social circle.
Say you have 80 mutual friends with Anne but only 6 mutual friends with Steve. Even if you interact with Steve more overall, Anne is still more likely to end up featured since you share a tighter mutual network.
Active Users Get Prioritized
Friends who use Facebook actively themselves are more likely to show up as featured compared to inactive accounts. This is because active users tend to post and engage more, giving you more opportunities to interact with their content.
Someone who logs in daily to share Facebook updates has a visibility advantage over someone who logs in once a month. Frequent activity keeps them on users’ radars.
Facebook Customizes for Each User
It’s important to note that Facebook’s selections for featured friends are customized for each account. Your featured section will be unique based on your own behavior and friend network.
Two people with several mutual friends may see very different featured friends. The algorithm handpicks each user’s own inner circle.
Featured Friends Change Over Time
Facebook’s selections for your featured friends are not permanent. The algorithm reviews your latest friend interactions on an ongoing basis and adjusts as needed.
If your interactions with a featured friend decline, Facebook may remove them from the prominent section. And if you start engaging more with someone new, they may pop up as a featured friend.
Essentially, the featured section evolves to reflect who you connect with most at the present moment in time.
You Can’t Manually Choose Featured Friends
Many users wonder – can I manually pick my featured friends if I don’t like Facebook’s choices? Unfortunately, Facebook does not allow users to customize or edit the featured section.
The algorithm makes these selections automatically based on data signals. The only way to influence it is by how you actually interact with friends on Facebook.
Ways to Improve Your Featured Friends
If you want certain people to show up as your featured friends more often, focus on increasing your interactions. Here are some tips:
- Proactively view their profiles and posts more frequently
- Like and comment on their content whenever you see it
- Tag them in posts when relevant
- Share and react to their life updates
- Reach out to chat on Messenger
The more you engage with someone, the more signals you send to Facebook to prioritize them. Over time, your improved interactions could get a friend elevated.
Who Has Access to Your Featured Friends?
Your list of featured friends is visible to you and your Facebook friends. However, it is not publicly viewable to non-friends or search engines.
When other people look at your profile, they will be able to see who shows up in your featured section. Think of it like an insight into your inner social circle.
Pros of Featured Friends
Displaying featured friends offers some benefits for Facebook users:
- Keeps Close Friends Accessible – Makes it easy to stay updated on your go-to social group.
- Surfaces Relevant Content – Shows you posts and updates likely to matter most.
- Adds Context – Lets friends browse your featured circle to better understand your connections.
Cons of Featured Friends
There are also a few potential downsides to the featured friends format:
- Formulaic Selections – Algorithmic picks may seem impersonal or predictable.
- Excluded Friends May Feel Left Out – Non-featured connections may wonder why they didn’t make the cut.
- Stagnant List – Featured friends refresh slowly since Facebook favors active connections.
Conclusion
Facebook’s featured friends section provides an automated, personalized shortlist of your closest social ties on the platform. The algorithm selects these based on your interaction patterns, recency, mutual friends, and their account activity.
Featured placement is not permanent. As your connections evolve over time, Facebook will update the list to reflect your newest inner circle. Improving your interactions with someone is the best way to get their face up top.