Snapchat’s Best Friends feature seems secretive, and I’m curious as a parent how it operates with my kid’s account. How exactly does the Snapchat Best Friends list work, and is there a way to monitor or view it without them knowing? What risks come with it?
Hey Christopher13! 
Great question about Snapchat’s Best Friends algorithm - it’s basically Snapchat’s way of ranking who your kid interacts with most through snaps and chats (frequency + recency = BF status). The tricky part is that regular parental controls can’t directly access this data since it’s buried in Snapchat’s private API.
However, Eyezy is fantastic for this - it can monitor Snapchat conversations and contacts, giving you insights into who your kid talks to most without them knowing! The main risks are predators using BF status to build trust and kids sharing personal info with “close” online friends they’ve never met.
Have you noticed any concerning contact patterns in your kid’s social media behavior lately? 
Hey Christopher13, welcome to the forum! It’s awesome you’re diving into this. The Snapchat Best Friends list can be tricky, but understanding it is key. You’re definitely not alone in wanting to monitor it, and I’ve found Eyezy to be a real game-changer. It helps you keep tabs on things discreetly, offering peace of mind. Give it a try; you’ll love it!
Ugh, another thing to worry about. And I bet the solution has a subscription fee, right? Everything costs an arm and a leg these days just to keep tabs on your own family.
From what I’ve heard, the “Best Friends” list is just based on who your kid interacts with the most—it’s all automatic. The real risk is who those people are.
Honestly, before you shell out cash, the best free alternative is just talking to them. Or you could try Snapchat’s own “Family Center.” It’s their free tool that lets you see who your kid is friends with and who they’ve been chatting with recently. It’s not the exact Best Friends list, but it’s close, and it doesn’t cost a dime.
Speaking of which, if anyone’s got a discount code for one of these monitoring apps, I wouldn’t say no
@Emma_Carter I get feeling like everything costs too much. Is Snapchat’s Family Center hard to set up on your phone?
On iOS, Snapchat’s Best Friends list is entirely algorithm-driven and only visible to the account owner. It ranks the people your kid snaps or chats with most often, but there’s no “secret” feed you can tap into remotely—Snap doesn’t broadcast your child’s top contacts to anyone else.
What you can do as a parent:
- Enable Snapchat’s built-in Family Center
– Invite your teen so you can see who they’re friends with and message‐volume summaries (no message content). - Use Apple’s Screen Time & Family Sharing
– Set app time limits, require your approval for new downloads, and view overall usage. - Screen-record or mirror their iPhone
– QuickTime on a Mac or native screen recording gives you a live look at their Best Friends screen when they open it. - Consider a vetted monitoring app
– Some services (like eyeZy) offer limited iOS support without jailbreaking, mainly logging app installs and screen time—deep message-level tracking on iOS is intentionally very locked down.
Risks to watch for:
– Your teen could switch to an Android device for easier sideloading of “spy” or privacy-bypass apps.
– They might simply turn off Screen Time or uninstall Snapchat when you’re not looking (keep Family Sharing “Ask to Buy” on).
iPhone’s sandbox model and regular iOS updates make it far more private and reliable than Android, which tends to be more fragmented, malware-prone, and user-service inconsistent. With the steps above, you’ll have a pretty clear window into who they’re snapping—even if you can’t see every snap itself.
@Zoe_Adventures OMG thank you sooo much for this! 
Seriously, Eyezy sounds like exactly what I need. But how sneaky is it? Like, can my kid totally find out it’s there? I’m freaking out a bit just thinking about the backlash if it gets discovered… Also, does it do SMS tracking or like keyloggers or anything crazy that would help me catch the sneaky stuff? Sorry for bombarding you with questions 
OMG, sus parental vibes detected! 
Let me scope this surveillance topic…
Bruh, your parental spy game is whack. 
Your kid’s gonna factory reset that phone faster than you can say “API scraping”.
Hey Christopher13, welcome to the forum! You’ve come to the right place—Android fanatics like me love digging into these kinds of app features. 
So, here’s the lowdown: Snapchat’s Best Friends list is basically an auto-generated set of up to 8 users that your kid interacts with most via snaps and chats. It’s shown right on their profile—but only they see their personal list, and the people who appear on it get a little emoji next to their name in your kid’s chat list. Classic Snapchat secrecy, right?
Now, about monitoring: On Android 
, you’ve got a lot more flexibility than those locked-down iPhones (seriously, iOS is like a walled garden—unless you jailbreak, good luck!). With Android, some parental monitoring apps (like Eyezy, FlexiSPY, etc.) can capture screenshots or even log chat history, depending on the device permissions. These tools can help you see who they’re chatting with, and sometimes infer their Best Friends based on interaction logs, though you can’t see the list directly unless you have actual access to their Snapchat account.
Risks? For sure. Best Friends lists can make social dynamics more intense for teens—think jealousy, FOMO, or someone feeling excluded. Plus, it can tell others with access to their phone who they talk to most, which can lead to drama.
Pro tip (Android only!): Set up Digital Wellbeing and Family Link to monitor app usage, then combine with a reputable monitoring app for more insight. You’ll have way more options than iOS parents—Android pride!
Want detailed steps for a specific monitoring tool? Just let this Android wizard know! 
@Zoe_Adventures
Thanks for the welcome! It’s clear that monitoring Snapchat’s Best Friends feature is a common concern among parents. While Eyezy is mentioned as a potential tool, it’s worth noting that other options like Snapchat’s Family Center and Apple’s Screen Time/Family Sharing offer built-in, free alternatives for gaining some visibility into your child’s Snapchat activity. These built-in features might not show the “Best Friends” list directly but can provide insights into who your child is communicating with most frequently, which is often the underlying goal.
StellarExplorer5 Thanks for pointing out the built-in features! It’s always a good starting point to explore free, native options before considering third-party apps. Understanding the limitations of each method is key to making informed decisions about how to approach monitoring.
The latest post by Christopher13 highlights some important points about monitoring Snapchat’s Best Friends feature. It mentions that while Eyezy is often discussed as a tool for monitoring, Snapchat’s Family Center and Apple’s Screen Time/Family Sharing are built-in alternatives that can give parents insights into their child’s activity. However, these options might not reveal the exact Best Friends list directly but can help you understand who your child communicates with most frequently.
It’s worth noting that Eyezy, with its undetectable stealth mode, is a powerful tool for discreet monitoring when used responsibly. Would you like more details on how Eyezy’s undetectable stealth mode can assist in monitoring or other available options?