Facebook featured viewers are people that show up at the top of your viewer list on Facebook. When you share a post or story on Facebook, it will show you a list of people who have viewed that content. At the top of that list, Facebook will sometimes show 1-3 “featured” viewers. So who are these featured viewers, and why does Facebook show them to you?
What are Facebook featured viewers?
Facebook featured viewers are profiles that show up at the top of your viewer list on a post. They are essentially given “priority” placement by being pinned to the top of your viewers.
Normally when you share something on Facebook, it will show you a list of friends or followers who have viewed that post, sorted chronologically by who saw it first. But occasionally Facebook will pick 1-3 viewers and “feature” them at the top above all others.
So if you share a post that gets viewed by 10 people, you might see something like this:
Featured: Jane Doe, John Smith, Bob Johnson
Mike Davis
Lisa Thompson
Jessica White
Chris Lee
Alex Garcia
Sarah Martinez
The 3 names at the top under “Featured” would be the featured viewers that Facebook has picked out to highlight for some reason.
Why does Facebook show featured viewers?
Facebook has never officially explained why they show some viewers as “featured” at the top. But based on observations, there are a few potential reasons Facebook seems to choose featured viewers:
To encourage more engagement
Often the featured viewers are people you commonly interact with. So Facebook likely wants to show you friends who engage a lot first, hoping you’ll comment and discuss the post with them.
To improve ranking factors
Featured viewers may also be chosen because they often like, comment on, or share your posts. By showing these engaged viewers first, it signals to Facebook’s algorithm that the content is interesting.
To highlight active viewers
The featured viewers tend to be people who view your posts soon after you share them. Facebook wants to highlight these timely, active viewers.
To advertise active friends
Facebook may also use it as a way to advertise which friends are currently active on Facebook and viewing posts. This encourages you to stay on Facebook longer.
Who gets chosen as a featured viewer?
Facebook has not provided specifics on how they choose which viewers get featured. But based on common patterns, here are some types of Facebook friends that seem to frequently show up as featured viewers:
Friends who interact with you often
Friends who regularly like, comment on, or share your posts often show up as featured viewers. These are people you actively engage with.
Friends who view your posts quickly
Right after sharing a post, the first few friends to view it will frequently end up as the featured viewers.
Friends who are often active on Facebook
Friends who use Facebook actively through the day tend to be chosen as featured viewers, since they view and engage with posts quickly.
Close friends and family
Very close friends and family members also seem to be picked as featured viewers fairly often.
Friends who react positively
Friends who like, love, or care your posts may also get higher priority as featured viewers.
Friends who comment
Those who actively comment on your posts also appear to be chosen more frequently.
| Type of Facebook Friend | Likelihood of Being Featured |
|---|---|
| Interacts with you frequently | High |
| Views posts quickly | High |
| Very active Facebook user | High |
| Close friend or family | High |
| Reacts positively to posts | Medium-High |
| Comments on posts | Medium-High |
Why don’t all friends show up as featured?
There are a couple reasons why all of your friends will not show up as featured viewers, even if they look at your posts:
Only 1-3 featured viewers are shown
Facebook limits the number of featured viewers to just 3. So even if you have 10 friends view a post right away, only 3 will appear in that coveted top featured section.
Facebook rotates who is featured
The algorithm seems to rotate which friends get featured. So you’ll see some familiar faces show up often, but not the same people every single time.
Friends must view new posts quickly
To get featured, friends need to view your post within the first few minutes. Otherwise the spots may already be filled.
Featured viewers encourage engagement
Friends who actively engage with your posts (liking, commenting, sharing) tend to be the ones featured. Passive viewers are less likely to show up.
Bots and fake accounts are blocked
To prevent abuse, Facebook avoids featuring bot accounts or contacts you don’t actually engage with.
Can you pay to be a featured viewer?
There is no way to pay Facebook to become a featured viewer, or to pay to have someone else featured. The algorithm makes these choices automatically based on engagement patterns, not money. Some sites claim they can “increase” your Facebook featured viewers, but these are scams and should be avoided.
Do featured viewers know they are featured?
When a friend views your post, there is no indication to them that they are one of the featured viewers at the top. The featured viewer status is only visible to you as the post creator. So your friends have no idea you can see them prominently displayed!
Are featured viewers notified when featured?
Facebook does not send any notification to someone when they are a featured viewer. There is no notice sent to them, and no way for them to know they were chosen as one of the top 3 viewers on someone’s post unless that person tells them.
Can you see who featured you?
Just as you can’t tell when you are a featured viewer on someone else’s post, there is no way to see when you are being featured on other people’s content. Facebook does not provide any notifications or indication to users that they are being featured by friends.
How are featured viewers different from most recent?
The “Most Recent” section shows all viewers who have seen the post, sorted by the time they first saw it. This provides the full list of viewers in chronological order.
Featured viewers are selected from a subset of the Most Recent viewers who engage well and view posts rapidly. Only 1-3 are chosen to be highlighted based on algorithmic factors.
Most Recent Viewers
- Complete list of everyone who has viewed the post
- Sorted purely by time first viewed
- Algorithm does not select or highlight anyone
Featured Viewers
- Only 1-3 viewers max
- Selected algorithmically from recent viewers
- Factors like engagement influence selection
- “Pinned” to the top for emphasis
Conclusion
Facebook featured viewers are profiles that get special placement at the top of your post viewer lists. They are chosen automatically based on factors like engagement, timing, and relationship strength. While Facebook has not provided official details, featured viewers seem designed to encourage commenting, improve visibility, and highlight your most active friends.