---
title: Social Connections
description: Connect with fellow volunteers through friend requests, activity feeds, groups, and real-time notifications.
icon: material/account-heart
status: new
tags:
  - guide
  - volunteer
  - social
---

# Social Connections

Connect with fellow volunteers through friend requests, activity feeds, team groups, and real-time notifications. Enable via **Settings > Feature Toggles > Social Connections**.

---

## Friends

- **Send requests** — search for other volunteers and send friend requests
- **Accept / decline / cancel** — manage requests from the Friends page
- **Mutual friends** — view shared connections between users
- **Block / unblock** — blocked users cannot send requests or appear in suggestions

![Friends page with Friends, Requests, Sent, Blocked, and Groups tabs](../../assets/images/screenshots/volunteer/friends.png){ loading=lazy }

---

## Discover

The Discover page suggests potential friends using a ranked scoring algorithm based on:

- Household/family connections (highest priority)
- Mutual friends
- Shared shifts (co-volunteers from the last 90 days)
- Shared campaigns (co-participants from the last 90 days)

![Discover People page with search and ranked suggestions](../../assets/images/screenshots/volunteer/discover.png){ loading=lazy }

---

## Activity Feed

The Social Feed at `/volunteer/feed` shows recent activity from your friends:

- Shift signups, campaign emails, canvass sessions, and response submissions
- Limited to the last 30 days (max 50 items)

![Activity Feed page with Discover, Friends, and Referrals shortcuts](../../assets/images/screenshots/volunteer/feed.png){ loading=lazy }

---

## Groups

Groups are automatically created based on platform activity:

- **Shift teams** — created when 2+ volunteers share a shift
- **Campaign teams** — created when 2+ users participate in the same campaign

---

## Profiles

Each volunteer has a social profile showing volunteer stats, achievement badges, friendship status, and recent activity.

![Volunteer social profile with stats card](../../assets/images/screenshots/volunteer/profile.png){ loading=lazy }

---

## Pokes

Send a friendly nudge to any accepted friend (24-hour cooldown per pair).

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## Privacy Settings

| Setting | Default | Description |
|---------|---------|-------------|
| Show online status | On | Whether friends see you as online |
| Show in friend activity | On | Whether your actions appear in feeds |
| Allow friend requests | On | Whether others can send you requests |

---

## Digest Emails

Opt into periodic social digest emails with friend activity, unread notifications, and pending requests. Choose daily or weekly frequency.

---

## Notifications

The notification center at `/volunteer/notifications` collects friend requests, pokes, achievement unlocks, and group activity. Use **Preferences** to choose which notifications appear and **Mark All Read** to clear the badge.

![Notifications page with Preferences and Mark All Read controls](../../assets/images/screenshots/volunteer/notifications.png){ loading=lazy }

---

## Volunteer Routes

- `/volunteer/feed` — social activity feed
- `/volunteer/friends` — friends, requests, blocked, and groups
- `/volunteer/discover` — ranked friend suggestions
- `/volunteer/profile` — your social profile
- `/volunteer/profile/:userId` — another volunteer's profile
- `/volunteer/notifications` — notification center and preferences
- `/volunteer/groups/:id` — group detail with member list
