# Finding People & Following

Bonfire makes it easy to connect with others across your instance and the wider fediverse.

## How to Find People

- **Search:** Use the search bar to find people by username, display name, or full fediverse address (e.g. `@alex@bonfire.community.social`).
- **Shared Circles:** Discover people through shared circles and groups. Learn more in [Circles as Shared Lists](./shared-circles.md).
- **User Directory:** Most Bonfire instances have a user directory you can browse. Look for the "Users" link in the sidebar or navigation menu.
- **Instance Directory:** Some instances list other known federated communities. Find the "Instances" link in the sidebar for discovery.

## Following Profiles

- Click the **Follow** button on any profile to receive their public posts and updates in your feed.
- If the profile requires approval, your follow request will be sent for review.
- You can follow profiles from your own instance or any compatible fediverse platform.
- If you find a profile on another instance, you can follow them by copying their full address and searching for it on your own instance. For more details, see [Remote Interactions and the Fediverse](./remote-interactions.md).

## Managing Your Connections

- View and manage your followed profiles in your account’s "Following" section.
- Organize connections using circles and use custom feeds to filter their posts and activities.

## Tips

- You can follow multiple profiles from the same person (if they use Bonfire’s multi-profile feature).
- Use circles to group people by interest, relationship, or context.
- Explore directories and circles to find new people and communities.

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- For more on organizing your connections, see [Circles as Shared Lists](./shared-circles.md).  
- To discover more communities, check the instance directory in the sidebar.  
- To learn how to follow people across the fediverse, see [Remote Interactions and the Fediverse](./remote-interactions.md).