Why does the friends list change order on Facebook?

Here's How Facebook Determines Your Top Nine Friends

By Alyssa Morin
Nov 16, 2015
Image via Complex Original

Ever wonder how the nine friends shown on your Facebook page were selected? Is it because you do a lot of creeping? Could it be that you interact with those people the most? Well, the masterminds at Facebook created a mysterious algorithm that places certain people in those nine boxes. So before you stalk your crush on Facebook today, learn about the 12 key factors the social media site uses to add the nine friends on your page.

Many peopleon forums like Reddit have wondered what influences the placement of those people on their Facebook.Just do a quick Google searchand you'll see it's a popular topic. Some folks are worried that the top nine ranking means their significant other is cheating because ahottie is on that list. Others are frustrated that someone they dislike is creeping their page, while some people are panicking about theirstalking showing up on their crush's page.

"Guys please help me here," posted one forum user. "Is the way I see my friends' 9-boxes the same way they view it? And are people I see in their 9-boxes the people they interact with privately/publicly? During the past few weeks I've been seeing that girl persistently on my boyfriend's 9-box. They never interact publicly, but she used to have a thing for him, so I'm scared."

According to Motherboard Facebook determines those nine friends based on 12 factors - your interactions with those individuals on Facebook, profile views, tagged photos, wall posts, likes, comments, viewed photos, private messages, mutual interactions, friends who are currently online, friends you've added to the "close friends" group and group chats. So it doesn't necessarily mean those people are stalking you and that's why they are being added to your top nine friends. It could mean that you've interacted with them through private messaging or by simply having a lot of mutual friends.Maybe that's why a bunch of random high school classmates will appear in one or two of those boxes. Although Facebook organizes the list for you, you ultimately have the power to create your top nine list by adding your closest friends to the "close friends" group.

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