iOS: Friends

The Bible repeatedly reminds us that we need relationships with trustworthy people. You need close Friends who’ll encourage, inspire, challenge, love, and pray for you. And they need you to do the same for them.

We've updated the Bible App's "Friends" feature with security in mind. The new process helps you find specific friends more accurately and efficiently by reducing the number of search results, which previously left the community vulnerable to spam.

Add Friends

1. Select the Home tab on the bottom menu, then Community (top left).
2. If you have any Friend Requests:
   1. Select Accept on the ones you want to be Friends with.
   2. Select Ignore on the ones you don’t want to accept (your Friends won’t know or be told that their request was declined until they search your name again).
3. Top Right: select +Add Friends. The Add Friends screen gives you five ways to add new Friends:
   1. Select a name or email. Type a friend’s YouVersion account-associated email address, and search for it.
   2. Select Connect Contacts to add Friends from your phone contacts. Ensure their contact includes the email address associated with their YouVersion account, not just a phone number.
      1. Select Add next to any Friends you want to join in the Bible App.
      2. They’ll see your request in their Friend Requests.
   3. Select Add Facebook Friends. Ensure they have their Facebook account linked to their YouVersion account or have their Facebook email address associated with their YouVersion account.
      If this is your first time, you’ll be prompted to sign in on Facebook on the web. You can select a name and view their profile to ensure you’re sending your request to the correct person.
   4. Add Friends from People You May Know.
      1. Select Add next to any Friends you want to join in the Bible App (only contacts with a YouVersion account will appear).
   5. Add Friends by scanning their QR code.
      1. Select Share My Profile at the bottom.
      2. Select the Scan tab at the top.
      3. Scan and add the friend.

Accept or Decline a Friend Request

1. Select ≡ (More) or tap your Profile Picture (or Initial) from the Home screen, then Friends.
2. Select Accept to add them to your list or Ignore if you don’t want to add them.
   They won’t be notified that their request was declined until they search your name again.

When a friend request is received, a red dot appears on the notification bell on the Home screen. Tap the bell to see the request, tap it to open, and then accept or ignore.

Remove a Friend

1. Select ≡ (More) or tap your Profile Picture (or Initial) from the Home screen, then Friends.
2. Select the Friend you want to remove.
3. Select  ✓ Friend below their Profile Picture (or Initial).
4. Select Unfriend to remove this Friend.
   Or
   Tap on the screen outside the drop-down list to cancel.

Adjust Friend Notifications

1. Bottom right: select ≡ (More).
2. Select Settings.
3. Select Notification Settings.
4.  Select either Email Notifications or Push Notifications.
5. Under the Friends section, switch each Friend event to On or Off, as desired.
6. Top left: select <.