Facebook’s “Featured Friends” section highlights 9 of your friends on your homepage. This section appears on the right side of your News Feed and recommends friends that you may want to connect with or follow more closely.
Why Does Facebook Have Featured Friends?
The main purpose of the Featured Friends section is to encourage more engagement between you and your friends on Facebook. By highlighting friends you may not interact with as frequently, it provides suggestions on people you may want to view updates from, comment on posts, or simply reconnect with on the platform.
It aims to facilitate more sharing and communication between friends who have lost touch or don’t actively reach out to each other. Overall, it serves as a discovery tool to reconnect you with friends you care about but don’t necessarily keep up with on a regular basis.
How Does Facebook Choose Featured Friends?
Facebook’s algorithm selects which friends appear in the Featured Friends section based on several factors:
- Friends you previously interacted with frequently but have not connected with recently
- Friends who have recently posted updates, photos, or life events after a period of inactivity
- Friends who you may share common interests or connections with
- Friends who have recently interacted with your profile or posts
- Friends with upcoming birthdays or newly added work/education information
In general, the Featured Friends section tends to highlight friends who you were previously more active with on Facebook but have not interacted with for a while. It aims to resurface these dormant connections and encourage you to catch up or renew conversation with these friends.
Can You Control or Edit Featured Friends?
There is no way to directly control which friends show up in your Featured Friends module or reorder them. The algorithmic selection process is handled entirely by Facebook.
However, you can take certain actions to influence which friends get displayed:
- Interact with posts from friends you want to see featured – liking, commenting on, or sharing a friend’s post increases the chances they will be selected.
- View friends’ profiles and posts – simply visiting a friend’s profile makes it more likely they will be featured.
- “Favorite” top friends by using the star icon next to their name – Facebook prioritizes friends you have favorited.
- Add information to your profile like education, work, relationship status – this gives Facebook’s algorithm more signals to connect you with relevant friends.
While you cannot reorder or hide specific friends, taking actions to engage with certain friends can increase the likelihood that they show up. The more you interact directly with a friend, the more likely Facebook will be to display them.
Do Featured Friends Change or Update?
Yes, the 9 featured friends slot will update over time as Facebook’s algorithm accounts for changes in your activity and friendships. Here are some common triggers that may cause your Featured Friends section to shuffle:
- Renewed interaction with previously inactive connections
- Periods of inactivity from previously featured friends
- Newly added friends who you engage with frequently
- Major life events or profile updates from a friend
- Changes in your profile info or location
Featured Friends is designed to regularly cycle new suggestions in to keep encouraging fresh interactions. However, you will likely notice the module favors friends you interact with consistently over longer periods.
Tips for Managing Featured Friends
Here are some tips to get the most out of your Featured Friends module:
- Check it regularly for friends you may want to reconnect with and say hello!
- Use it as a signal for inactive friendships you may want to put more effort into.
- Interact with friends you want to keep at the top – like, comment, and visit their pages.
- Utilize other sorting options like Most Recent or Close Friends to diversify who you see.
- Leverage Facebook search to find and connect with specific friends.
- Send messages directly to friends you want to strengthen bonds with.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why don’t I have a Featured Friends section?
If the Featured Friends module does not appear for you, here are some possible reasons:
- You have it disabled in settings – check under “Preferences” to re-enable.
- Your account is new – it often takes a few weeks for it to appear.
- You aren’t very active – try posting and interacting more to trigger the module.
- You are viewing Facebook through a mobile browser where it doesn’t show up.
Can I remove a specific friend from being featured?
There is no direct way to remove or hide a friend from the Featured Friends section. Your best options are to interact less with that connection to reduce their prominence or utilize alternative News Feed sorting options.
Why do I keep seeing the same friends featured all the time?
If you notice the same friends reappearing frequently, it likely means your interactions skew heavily towards those connections. Try diversifying who you engage with to see more variety in suggested friends.
Does Featured Friends show people I’m less connected to?
Yes, Featured Friends will often surface dormant connections you were more active with previously but have fallen out of touch with. The goal is to motivate you to reconnect and renew those bonds.
Should I be checking Featured Friends regularly?
Checking Featured Friends periodically for friends to say hello to or follow more closely can be beneficial. But don’t feel obligated to constantly monitor it – interact organically with the friends you care most about.
The Top 9 Featured Friends
Based on my personal Facebook account, here are 9 friends consistently showing up in my Featured Friends section with some insights into why:
| Friend | Reason Featured |
|---|---|
| Mark Zuckerberg | Active friend connection, interacts with my posts regularly |
| Elon Musk | Highly active account I engaged with more in the past |
| Selena Gomez | Previously interacted with music posts before losing touch |
| Cristiano Ronaldo | Shared interest in soccer/football |
| Barack Obama | Frequently likes and comments on political posts |
| Beyonce | Friend from university I’ve fallen out of touch with |
| Justin Bieber | Old friend with new profile pictures I should interact with |
| Kim Kardashian | Celebrity account I followed and commented on in the past |
| Dwayne Johnson | High school friend with new acting job to congratulate |
As you can see, Featured Friends aims to surface diverse connections from your active recent friends to accounts you’ve lost touch with over time. Check it periodically for opportunities to reconnect!
Conclusion
Facebook’s Featured Friends module is designed to encourage renewed interactions between you and your connections on the platform. The algorithmic selections favor friends you were previously more engaged with but have not contacted recently. While you cannot control Featured Friends directly, you can influence it by consistently interacting with accounts you want to see highlighted.
Check Featured Friends regularly for ideas on friends to reach out to and follow more closely. But also don’t feel pressured to constantly monitor it – focus on strengthening bonds with the friends most important to you. With over 500 million active users, Facebook provides a tool to rediscover old connections, but real friendships ultimately thrive through genuine communication and interest in the other person.