Yelp User Friends API: Public Connections and Sorting

Retrieve a page of a Yelp contributor's public friends. The required user parameter accepts a 22-character Yelp user ID or a Yelp profile URL. page accepts 1 through 1000 and has a documented default of 1; page_size accepts 1 through 50 and has a documented default of 20. sort_by accepts newest, oldest, name, name_desc or recently_reviewed, with newest as the documented default. The endpoint documentation describes friend entries with location, Elite status, and review, photo and friend counts. No response was observed for this endpoint, and the supplied success example is an empty object ({}). Those details are documented capabilities, not verified JSON fields: exact keys, the list envelope, pagination metadata and missing-value behavior are unconfirmed. Treat returned pages as a limited snapshot rather than a complete relationship graph. A friends list is not interchangeable with a following list.

API Features

Public Friend Roster Request the friends associated with one known Yelp profile, keeping this relationship type distinct from accounts that profile follows.

Five Friend Ordering Modes Choose newest, oldest, name, name_desc or recently_reviewed; omitting sort_by uses the documented newest ordering.

Bounded Connection Pages Select a page from 1 to 1000 and request 1 to 50 friends per page, with documented defaults of page 1 and 20 entries. These limits do not establish complete coverage.

Documented Friend Activity Context The documentation lists location, Elite status and review, photo and friend counts for friend entries. Their JSON keys and availability have not been response-verified.

Live API Demo

GET /api/project/yelp/user-friends

API Response (JSON)

{}

curl -X GET 'https://api.opendata-api.com/api/project/yelp/user-friends?key=<API_KEY>&user=CHV3OXUzMbMDZ5A07UGO5A'

curl -X GET 'https://api.opendata-api.com/api/project/yelp/user-friends?key=<API_KEY>&user=CHV3OXUzMbMDZ5A07UGO5A'

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Use Cases

Prepare a user-requested public connection inventory, retaining the selected friend-list page, page size and ordering with the snapshot.
Compare a limited friends snapshot with a separately retrieved following list for an approved study, keeping the two relationship types distinct.
Build an alphabetical friend browser with name or name_desc ordering without inferring relationship strength from list position.
For a limited, approved contributor study, inspect documented review and photo counts where returned without enriching identities or building an outreach list.

Frequently asked questions

What does the user parameter accept for a friends request?

Supply a 22-character Yelp user ID or a Yelp profile URL. The user parameter is required and identifies the profile whose friends you want to retrieve.

How do I paginate the friends list?

Use page from 1 to 1000 and page_size from 1 to 50. The documented defaults are page 1 and 20 friends per page. These request limits do not guarantee that every permitted page exists or that the list is complete.

Which friend sorting options are documented?

sort_by accepts newest, oldest, name, name_desc and recently_reviewed. Its documented default is newest; use name or name_desc for alphabetical ordering.

Does this endpoint return the accounts a user follows?

It is documented as a friends endpoint, not a following endpoint. Retrieve following data separately if needed and do not treat those two relationship types as equivalent.

Which friend details are documented, and are their JSON fields verified?

The documentation lists location, Elite status and review, photo and friend counts. No endpoint response was observed, and the supplied success example contains only {}. Exact field names, pagination metadata and missing-value behavior remain unverified.

Related operations

Guides

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