What do you call someone you can chat with for hours? Someone who’s ready to hype and meme with you about anything? Someone to share all your hopes, dreams, and best soup recipes? 

We’d call that a friend, of course! Friends are a big part of making your Discord experience unforgettable — which is why we’ve written this helpful blog post to explain how they work.

(Well, how our Friends List works…not your IRL friends…)

Anyway…let’s help you figure out how Friends, as a feature, work on Discord.
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How to Add Friends on Discord

Bumped into someone cool on Discord (or know them already)? To add someone as a friend on desktop, click on their avatar, then choose View Profile. Here, you’ll find the Add Friend option to send them a friend request.

On mobile, simply tap their avatar and you’ll see the Add Friend option right there. Tap that, and that’s it! Your friend request is on the way to your future friend. 

They won’t appear on your Friends list until they’ve accepted. You can check the status of your request by visiting the Pending tab of your Friends menu.
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What does being Discord friends mean?

Well, for one thing, it means you’re on each other’s Friends lists — that’s like, friends-for-life right there. You’ll show up on each other’s Active Now tabs and Home screens, and will be able to see each other’s online status when you’re in the same group DM, making it easier to keep track of when they’re online and what they’re up to.

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It’ll also be a little easier to interact overall. Friends can always direct message each other, even if someone’s privacy settings would normally block DMs from non-Friends. Friends can also freely add each other to group DMs. If you end up getting placed in a Group DM out of the blue, it’s guaranteed that at least one of your friends was in that conversation beforehand. 
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How to find (and make) friends on Discord

If you want to meet a kindred spirit on Discord, just ask yourself: where would you want to hang out? Consider taking a cruise through Server Discovery to scope out a new community to join. 

Don’t be shy about joining smaller servers, either—it can be hard to connect with new people when chat moves a mile a minute, so try some cozier spaces. 

As for more specific advice, that’s really down to where you are and who you’re hanging out with. Maybe you jumped into a random raid group in a gaming server and hit it off with some cool folks. Or maybe you helped a nice stranger work out why their cacti aren’t flowering. If the vibe’s right, go ahead and Add Friend! They just might accept your request. 

Remember: common interests bring Discord communities together. If you took the time to join a particular Discord server, then you’ve likely already got things in common with its inhabitants! Maybe they’ll even invite you to some other communities they enjoy, where you meet more friends until you have someone to talk to for any subject or situation. 

Actually, speaking of which…
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How many Discord friends can I have?

1000. One thousand. With three zeros. 1-0-0-0. So hey, if you’ve got 999 of them… still room for one more!
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I’m trying to add a new friend on Discord. Why can’t I message them? 

If you can’t DM someone you’ve just met, they may have turned off the ability for people not already on their Friends list to send them a DM. 

If you’re unable to send a Friend Request at all, their privacy settings may not allow certain users to send them friend requests. Check out our Blocking & Privacy Settings support article to see what sorts of settings are available.
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Is there an easy way to play games and watch videos with my Friends on Discord?

Funnily enough, yes! You can play games or even watch videos together in voice chat using Discord Activities.

Some games, such as Halo Infinite, also support inviting party members directly from Discord. Press the + button in your Discord conversation (like you were about to send a picture) and you’ll see an option to invite them directly to your game.

How to find my friends on Discord

Wondering who you know that’s already on Discord? You can sync your phone number or Facebook account and it might suggest some folks you already know. Learn more about privacy and finding your friends on Discord here.

How can I limit who can send me friend requests?

Simple! Just head to Settings > Friend Requests. You’ll see some helpful settings such as these:

These are the same Privacy Settings we hinted at in the question regarding being unable to message friends. You can limit who can send you a Friend Request to just Friends of Friends, Server Members only, both of those options simultaneously. 

You can also open the floodgates and allow “Everyone” to send you a friend request, which will allow anyone who knows your username to send you a Friend Request. 

We hope that answers all your questions about Friends on Discord. And remember: showing up is half the battle. Relax, listen, and seek out places where you feel comfortable and you’ll push that 1,000-Friend limit in no time.