# Meta Tech Podcast: Building the Friend Bubbles Feature for Facebook Reels

DevFeed: [Meta Tech Podcast: Building the Friend Bubbles Feature for Facebook Reels](<https://devfeed.tech/articles/reel-friends-building-social-discovery-that-scales-to-billions-22579.md>)

Original publisher: [Read original article](<https://engineering.fb.com/2026/05/13/ml-applications/reel-friends-building-social-discovery-that-scales-to-billions/>)

Author: Pascal Hartig

Published: 2026-05-13T13:00:44Z

Content type: article

Language: en

Sources: [Meta ML Applications](<https://devfeed.tech/sources/meta-ml-applications.md>)

Topics: [Meta](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/meta.md>), [Machine learning](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/machine-learning.md>)

Tags: [android](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/android.md>), [culture](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/culture.md>), [engineering](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/engineering.md>), [ios](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/ios.md>), [meta](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/meta.md>), [meta-tech-podcast](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/meta-tech-podcast.md>), [ml-applications](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/ml-applications.md>), [podcast](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/podcast.md>)

## AI overview

A Meta Tech Podcast episode discusses how Facebook Reels engineers built Friend Bubbles, a feature that highlights Reels watched and reacted to by a user's friends. The episode covers the machine learning model behind the feature and differences between iOS and Android user behavior.

## Source excerpt

On its face the new Friend Bubbles feature looks simple enough. It highlights Reels your friends have watched and reacted to. But sometimes the features that seem the most straightforward require the deepest engineering work. On this episode of the Meta Tech Podcast, Pascal Hartig chats with Subasree and Joseph, two software engineers from the Facebook [...] Read More... The post Reel Friends: Building Social Discovery that Scales to Billions appeared first on Engineering at Meta.