Glossary
Social graph
Also called: Follow graph, Friend graph
A social graph is a model of the relationships on a platform: people or accounts are the nodes, and connections such as friendships or follows are the edges between them.
Reviewed
Nodes, edges and direction
The word “graph” here is the mathematical kind: dots and lines, not a chart. The important design choice is whether an edge has a direction.
| Edge type | How it forms | Typical feel |
|---|---|---|
| Symmetric (friendship) | Both people must agree | Private, reciprocal circles |
| Directed (follow) | One person acts alone | Open; easy to follow people you don't know |
- Symmetric (friendship)
- How it forms:Both people must agree
- Typical feel:Private, reciprocal circles
- Directed (follow)
- How it forms:One person acts alone
- Typical feel:Open; easy to follow people you don't know
Follow-based platforms often treat a mutual follow — an edge in both directions — as a stronger signal than a one-way follow, and some use it to decide what you're allowed to do.
What platforms use the social graph for
- Feeds: a chronological feed is usually just the graph read in time order; ranked feeds boost people you're connected to.
- Suggestions: if Aisha follows Ben and Ben follows Chen, Chen is a natural suggestion for Aisha. That “friend of a friend” pattern powers most social discovery.
- Permissions: who can message you, mention you or see your posts often depends on your edges.
This is why two platforms with the same people can feel completely different. On a friendship network your feed is mostly people you've met; on a follow network it is often people you've never met but chose to hear from.
Social graph, interest graph, social network
Your graph is also information about other people. Who you follow, and who follows you back, can reveal friendships, workplaces or communities, which is why many platforms let you limit who sees your connections.
On Asyncbit
Asyncbit's graph is follow-based, and mutual follows matter. A 1:1 chat needs a mutual follow, as does replying to someone's story. Group chats can include people you follow or who follow you. The Following feed shows posts from people you follow in time order, and the For you feed gives them a boost. People suggestions draw on mutual follows as well as interests and activity, profiles show mutual followers, and @mentions work for people in your follow graph. Blocking someone removes follows in both directions. See discover people.
See it for yourself
Asyncbit is free, with no paid tier and no ads. Everything described here is available from the first day.
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Related Asyncbit features
Where this comes up
- GuideHow to protect your privacy on social mediaA practical privacy checklist for social media: audit your profile, stop location leaks, control who can reach you, secure your account and limit third-party access.
- ComparisonAsyncbit vs ThreadsThreads is Meta's text-first app tied to Instagram and Facebook; Asyncbit is an independent, ad-free community network. Posts, feeds, DMs and privacy compared.