In the world of Snapchat, your “Best Friends” list is more than just a collection of names. it’s a reflection of who you interact with most. Whether it’s your closest friends, your crush, or someone you’d rather keep things casual with, Snapchat’s algorithm quietly tracks your chat habits and snaps to decide who appears there.
But what happens when someone lands on that list, and you’d rather they didn’t? Maybe it’s an ex, a co-worker, or simply someone you don’t talk to as much anymore. While Snapchat doesn’t give you a direct “Remove Best Friend” button, there are simple, smart ways to manage it.
Here’s a step-by-step, research-backed guide on how to remove someone from your Snapchat Best Friends list without drama or confusion.
What Is the Snapchat Best Friends List?
Snapchat’s Best Friends list is an automatically generated group of people you interact with the most through chats and snaps.
The app’s algorithm determines this list based on:
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Frequency of chats (how often you text or snap them)
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Snap streaks (consecutive days of communication)
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Mutual interactions (both sending and receiving snaps)
Typically, your Best Friends appear at the top of your chat list and on the “Send To” screen. You can have up to eight Best Friends on your list, depending on your activity.
Why You Might Want to Remove Someone
Here are the most common reasons Snapchat users want to remove someone from their Best Friends list:
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Privacy Concerns: You don’t want others seeing certain names when sharing snaps.
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Social Changes: You’ve stopped talking to someone frequently.
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Avoiding Awkwardness: You’re trying to distance yourself from an ex or acquaintance.
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Reorganizing Your List: You want your true close friends to appear first.
Whatever your reason, Snapchat gives you several ways to change who appears there indirectly, but effectively.
How to Remove Someone from Your Snapchat Best Friends List
Snapchat doesn’t allow direct removal, but you can easily influence the algorithm to make it happen. Here’s how:
1. Reduce Your Interactions
The simplest and most natural way to remove someone is to stop interacting with them.
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Don’t send or open snaps from that person.
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Avoid chatting or reacting to their stories.
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Stop maintaining streaks.
After a few days or weeks (depending on how often you use Snapchat), their ranking will drop, and they’ll disappear from your Best Friends list.
🕓 Estimated time: 3–7 days of no interaction.
2. Delete or Block Them Temporarily
If you want an immediate fix, this method works fastest.
Steps:
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Open Snapchat and go to their profile.
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Tap the three dots (⋮) in the top-right corner.
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Select “Manage Friendship.”
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Choose “Remove Friend” or “Block.”
Blocking instantly resets your chat frequency with that person. Once unblocked or re-added, the streak and connection history are gone meaning they’ll no longer appear as a Best Friend.
🛑 Note: Blocking also removes them from your friends list entirely until you add them back.
3. Clear Your Chat History
Snapchat uses chat frequency to determine your top friends. Clearing the conversation can help reset your interaction count.
Here’s how to do it:
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Tap your Bitmoji (profile icon) in the top-left.
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Tap the gear icon ⚙️ for Settings.
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Scroll down and select “Clear Conversations.”
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Tap the ‘X’ next to the person you want to remove.
This doesn’t unfriend them, but it can lower your engagement score making it easier for Snapchat to replace them with others you talk to more often.
4. Change Your Snapchat Emojis
If you don’t want to remove someone entirely but just want to hide the emoji indicator (like ❤️ or 😊), you can customize your Friend Emojis.
To do this:
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Open Settings → Customize Emojis.
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Find the Best Friends Emoji section.
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Replace it with a neutral emoji or none at all.
This keeps your Best Friends list private while maintaining your connections.
5. Snap Others More Frequently
Another smart trick is to increase your interactions with other friends.
The Snapchat algorithm automatically pushes new, more active contacts higher in ranking. So if you start snapping others more, the person you want to remove will gradually disappear from the Best Friends list.
📈 Pro Tip: Try snapping at least 3–5 other people consistently for a few days to reset your list balance.
Can You Hide Your Best Friends List Completely?
As of Snapchat does not allow users to hide or turn off their Best Friends list entirely.
However, you can minimize visibility by:
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Switching to Ghost Mode in your Snap Map settings.
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Customizing who can view your story.
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Adjusting your Friend Emojis (as mentioned earlier).
These settings help maintain privacy even if someone remains on your list.
Expert Insight
According to multiple social media researchers, Snapchat’s Best Friends algorithm is designed to enhance engagement and retention. By showing you people you interact with the most, it encourages frequent use of the app.
But from a privacy standpoint, many users wish Snapchat offered more control. That’s why these indirect workarounds have become popular methods to “reset” or manage one’s Best Friends list without drastic measures.
“Snapchat’s algorithm is deeply personal, but it’s not perfect,” says tech analyst Maria Santos. “Learning how to work with it not against it gives users more privacy and control.”
Conclusion
Your Snapchat Best Friends list shouldn’t cause stress or awkwardness. Whether it’s about maintaining privacy or simply reshuffling your top contacts, you have the tools to make it happen.
By limiting interactions, clearing chats, or temporarily removing someone, you can easily control who appears there without deleting your account or losing friends permanently.
Remember: Snapchat reflects your activity. So, change your habits, and your Best Friends list will follow.
Did this guide help you manage your Snapchat Best Friends list?
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