Finding your recently added friends on Facebook
Facebook does not have a dedicated "recently added friends" list that shows everyone you connected with in the past month or year. Instead, you can view your full friends list and sort it by when you added each person, or you can check individual friend requests you sent and accepted. The fastest method depends on whether you want to review friends you added yourself or see a chronological feed of all new connections.
Your friends list is stored in your profile, and Facebook arranges it by default in an order that prioritizes people you interact with most. To see when you actually added someone, you need to either visit their profile directly or use Facebook's search and filter options.
Key Takeaways
- Facebook's main friends list does not display an "added date" column, so you cannot sort all friends by when you connected with them in one view.
- You can visit individual friend profiles and scroll to the "Friends" section to see the date you became friends, listed as "Friends since [date]".
- Your friend requests sent and received are stored separately in the Friends menu, where you can see pending requests and dates you sent them.
- Third-party tools and browser extensions claim to show recently added friends, but they require you to grant access to your Facebook account and carry privacy risks.
Checking a friend's profile for the connection date
The most reliable way to confirm when you added a specific person is to visit their Facebook profile. Once you are on their profile page, look for the "Friends" button or section near the top. Click or tap it, and Facebook will display "Friends since [month] [day], [year]" — this is the exact date you became friends.
This method works on both desktop and mobile. On mobile, you may need to scroll down slightly to see the friends section. If you added the person years ago, the date will still be there. This approach is useful if you remember a person's name but want to confirm when you connected, or if you are checking a small number of recent additions one at a time.
Viewing your friend requests and sent requests
Facebook keeps a record of friend requests you have sent and received. To access this, open Facebook and click the Friends icon (it looks like two people) in the top menu. From the dropdown, select "Friend requests" to see pending requests you have received, or look for a "Sent requests" or "Requests sent" option to see people you have asked to be friends with who have not yet responded.
The dates on these requests show when you sent them or when someone sent them to you. This is helpful if you want to track friend requests that are still waiting for a response. However, this view does not show friends you have already accepted — only pending or sent requests.
Sorting your friends list on desktop
On Facebook's desktop version, go to your profile and click the "Friends" tab. Your friends list will appear, usually sorted by "Suggestions" or "Mutual friends" by default. While Facebook does not offer a built-in sort by "date added," you can manually review the list and visit individual profiles to check connection dates. Some people organize their friends into custom lists (like "New Friends") and add people to those lists as they connect, which creates a manual record.
Creating a custom friends list is a workaround that requires you to add people to it yourself when you become friends. To create one, go to your Friends tab, click "Create list," name it (for example, "Recently Added"), and then add friends to it as you connect with them going forward. This does not retroactively show past additions, but it helps you track new friends from that point onward.
Using Facebook's search to find recent activity
Facebook's search bar at the top of the page searches for people, posts, and pages, but it does not have a filter for "friends added in the last 30 days." However, you can search for a person's name and then visit their profile to check the "Friends since" date. This is slower than other methods if you are looking for multiple people, but it is useful if you remember someone's name and want to verify when you connected.
Another option is to check your own activity log. On your profile, click the three dots menu and select "Activity log" or "See your activity." From there, you can filter by "Friends" to see a chronological list of friend additions. This shows the dates you added people in reverse chronological order (newest first), making it easier to spot recent connections without visiting individual profiles.
Third-party tools and browser extensions
Several browser extensions and third-party websites claim to show your recently added friends in a list format. These tools typically require you to log in with your Facebook account and grant them permission to access your friends data. While some may work, they carry privacy risks because you are sharing your login credentials or account access with a service that is not Facebook.
Facebook's terms of service restrict what third-party apps can do with your data, and many of these tools violate those terms or become outdated when Facebook changes its system. If you use one, you are responsible for any unauthorized access or data misuse that results. The built-in methods — checking individual profiles or using your activity log — are safer and do not require you to trust a third party with your account.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I see a list of all my friends sorted by when I added them?
Facebook does not offer a built-in sort by date added in your main friends list. Your best option is to use your activity log, which shows friend additions in chronological order, or to check individual profiles for the "Friends since" date. Creating a custom friends list and manually adding new friends to it going forward is another way to track recent additions.
Does Facebook notify me when I add a new friend?
Facebook does not send you a notification when you add someone as a friend. However, the other person may see a notification that you sent them a friend request or that you are now friends, depending on their privacy settings. You can check your own activity log to see a record of when you sent requests or when requests were accepted.
Why does Facebook not show an "added date" on my friends list?
Facebook prioritizes showing you friends you interact with most frequently rather than organizing by date. The company does store the connection date (visible on individual profiles), but it does not display it as a sortable column in your main friends list. This design choice encourages you to focus on active friendships rather than tracking when connections began.
Is it safe to use a third-party app to see recently added friends?
Third-party apps that claim to show recently added friends require you to grant them access to your account, which carries security and privacy risks. Many violate Facebook's terms of service and may become outdated or stop working. Using Facebook's built-in features — your activity log and individual profile checks — is safer and does not require you to share your login information.
Can I see when someone added me as a friend?
Yes. Visit that person's profile, click on their friends list, find your name, and the date shown next to your name is when they added you. Alternatively, if they sent you a friend request that you accepted, you can check your friend requests history to see the date they sent it, though the exact acceptance date may not be displayed.