If you were using smartphones around 2014, you probably remember the absolute chaos of the original Snapchat interface.
Back in the day, the app had a feature that was practically designed to start arguments. You could tap on literally anyone’s profile your best friend, your partner, or your crush and instantly see a public list of their top three Best Friends. You knew exactly who they were snapping the most, and they knew exactly who you were snapping. It was a privacy nightmare, and it ruined relationships on a daily basis.
Snapchat eventually realized the feature was causing way too much drama, so they completely nuked it. They pushed a massive update, wiped the public lists, and replaced them with private emojis.
But old habits die hard. If you have a sinking feeling that your partner is hiding something, or you just want to know who your friend is constantly talking to, you are probably digging through the app right now trying to figure out how to see someone’s best friends on Snapchat.
Before you waste hours downloading sketchy third-party apps, we need to be incredibly candid about how the platform actually works today. Here is the reality of Snapchat’s privacy walls, the emoji clues you can actually use, and the scams you need to avoid.
The Hard Truth: The List is Locked Down
Let’s rip the bandage off immediately. You cannot see someone else’s Best Friends list on Snapchat. It is technologically impossible. The list of the eight people they interact with the most is locked entirely behind their own login credentials. When you tap on their profile, you will only see their Snap Score, their astrological sign, and any public stories they have posted.
Snapchat’s algorithm calculates Best Friends based on a complex mix of private chat frequency, photo replies, and group chat interactions. That data is processed on Meta’s secure servers and pushed exclusively to the account owner’s screen. There is no hidden menu, developer backdoor, or premium subscription that will unlock that list for you.
The Emoji Clues (The Only Real Workaround)
While you cannot see their raw list, Snapchat does occasionally leak little hints about your mutual connections. You just have to know how to read the emojis that pop up next to their name in your chat feed.
Snapchat uses these emojis to show you how your digital social circle overlaps with theirs. If you want to know who they are snapping, keep an eye out for these two specific faces:
-
The Grimacing Face (😬): This is the ultimate snitch emoji. If you see this face next to someone’s name, it means you share a #1 Best Friend. The person you send the absolute most snaps to is the exact same person they send the most snaps to. If you see this pop up next to your partner’s name, and you know who your own #1 best friend is, you instantly know who they are talking to all day.
-
The Sunglasses Face (😎): This one is a little less intense but still reveals a connection. It means you share a close friend. Someone who sits on your Best Friends list is also sitting somewhere on their Best Friends list.
If you don’t share any mutual top friends, you will not see these emojis, and you are completely locked out of knowing who is on their roster.
The Spyware Scam Industry
Because the desire to snoop is so incredibly high, a massive, highly predatory scam industry has popped up around this exact issue.
If you search the internet for ways to view hidden Snapchat friends, you will instantly find websites and apps promising a “magic hack.” They claim that if you type in the target’s username and pay a $15 subscription fee, their software will remotely intercept the account and generate a perfect spreadsheet of their Best Friends list.
Do not pay them. Do not download the software. These are professional phishing scams. It is fundamentally impossible for a random third-party website to penetrate Snapchat’s encrypted servers. The operating systems on modern smartphones use strict “sandboxing,” meaning one app cannot secretly read the internal data of another app.
If you give these websites your credit card, they will steal your money. If they ask you to log into your own Snapchat account to “verify your identity,” they will steal your password and lock you out of your own profile.
The Snap Score Alternative
If you are just trying to figure out if someone is actively ignoring you, you don’t actually need to see their Best Friends list. You just need to watch their Snap Score. Every time a user sends or opens a Snap, their public score increases by one point.
If you sent a message three hours ago and you are still left on “Delivered,” tap their profile and make a mental note of their score. Check it again an hour later. If the score went up by twenty points, but your message is still unread, you have your answer. They are actively on their phone, snapping other people on their hidden list, and deliberately choosing not to open your message.
You can’t hack your way around a trust issue. If they are guarding their phone and their score is skyrocketing while they ignore you, the technology is working exactly as intended to protect their privacy even if it is frustrating on your end.
