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Friends

By Alex Kirk

Community & Social / User-Generated Content

Friends Review - In-Depth Analysis

Friends is a self-hosted social reader for WordPress that allows you to follow people via RSS and ActivityPub. It features multiple themes and an extensible plugin ecosystem.

Performance Overview

WPS Score

6.74/10

User Rating

5/5 (based on 7+ reviews)

Active Installations

900+

Update Frequency

Average It is calculated using the weighted average of same category plugins.

Security Score

5.77 / 10 (Medium Risk) It is calculated using the weighted average of all versions.

What It Does

The Friends plugin turns your WordPress into a self-hosted social reader. Follow people via RSS and ActivityPub and read their posts through one of several built-in themes with dark mode support.

Combine this plugin with the ActivityPub plugin to participate in the Fediverse from your own site. Use the Enable Mastodon Apps plugin to use mobile and desktop Mastodon apps with your WordPress.

The plugin is designed to be extensible: other plugins can add parsers for new feed sources, new themes, and new functionality like saving posts to a collection or sending them to an eReader.

You can choose from multiple themes, organize your subscriptions into folders, and have multiple feeds per person. Categorize incoming content with Post Formats and view all posts of a certain format across your feeds. Define rules to filter incoming content and get full-post email notifications from your favorite blogs.

Save posts to a collection for later reference and send posts to your eReader. Subscribe to any site with one click using the Friends browser extension.

The Friends Plugin was built to make use of what WordPress provides. You use the WordPress infrastructure to create your posts. Followed people are stored as taxonomy terms, and their posts are cached as a custom post type.

Comparing to Alternatives

Friends is a unique plugin that integrates WordPress sites into the Fediverse, offering social networking features that connect with decentralized platforms. It stands out among other community and social networking plugins by focusing on federation and interoperability.

Top alternatives

Strengths

Seamless integration with ActivityPub and Fediverse platforms
Enables bridging to services like Mastodon and BlueSky
Facilitates community building across multiple WordPress sites
User-friendly with features like email alerts and reblogging
Highly rated with positive user feedback

Weaknesses

Known security vulnerabilities in past versions, though fixed in updates
Limited discovery features for finding new sites to follow
May override theme headers in some cases
No official pro version or premium features available

User Sentiment Analysis

With a perfect 5-star rating from all reviewers, users consistently praise Friends for its innovative approach to federated social networking and ease of use.

Positive highlights

'Astoundingly good idea' and well-loved by multiple blog owners (lordmatt)
Excited about possibilities combining with ActivityPub for federated networks (kennethrg)
Effective bridging to BlueSky and seamless integration praised (solarbird)
Easy to use with useful features like email alerts and reblogging (vuorijoki)
Highly recommended for WordPress users wanting Fediverse connectivity (Peter Roe)

Common complaints

Weaknesses

Past security issues requiring updates
Limited site discovery options
Potential theme conflicts on the /friends page

Who Should Use This?

Best for

Users who want to integrate their WordPress site into the Fediverse and connect with decentralized social networks like Mastodon and BlueSky. Ideal for community advocates and bloggers seeking federated social interaction.

Not ideal for

Users who prioritize out-of-the-box theme compatibility or require extensive user discovery features. Also not ideal for those concerned about past security vulnerabilities without applying updates promptly.

Pricing & Value

Free version includes

The free version offers full functionality for federated social networking, including bridging to Fediverse platforms, user interactions, and email alerts.

Final Verdict

Friends is a standout plugin for WordPress users looking to participate in the Fediverse, offering seamless integration and innovative social networking features. Its perfect user ratings reflect strong satisfaction with its capabilities and ease of use.

However, users should be aware of past security vulnerabilities that have been addressed in updates and consider potential theme conflicts. Despite these, Friends remains a valuable tool for federated community building without additional cost.

Other Notable Features

Here are a few other notable features of this free Friends plugin.

Decentralized

Social Network

RSS

Screenshots

FAQ

No, all the functionality is achieved with standard WordPress means. Followed people are stored as taxonomy terms, and their posts are cached in a custom post type.