# Social Features
**URL:** https://meta.discourse.org/t/social-features/390462
**Category:** Support
**Tags:** hosted-support
**Created:** [December 4, 2025, 11:52pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/social-features/390462 "2025-12-04T23:52:41Z")
**Posts on this page:** 3
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@beitmenotyou](https://meta.discourse.org/u/beitmenotyou)
#### Post date: [December 4, 2025, 11:52pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/social-features/390462/1 "2025-12-04T23:52:41Z")
How do I add social features to my site, such as statuses, follows, additional information boxes on profiles, and relationships between people on the site? and more
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### Author:  [@NateDhaliwal](https://meta.discourse.org/u/NateDhaliwal)
#### Post date: [December 5, 2025, 1:36am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/social-features/390462/2 "2025-12-05T01:36:55Z")
To enable user statuses, enable the `enable user status` site setting.
> [@User Status](https://meta.discourse.org/t/user-status/240335):
>
> With this announcement, we’re making publicly available a new feature that enables you to set a custom status message. After setting, that message will be shown next to your avatar on posts, in chat, on your user card etc.: You can use it to let everyone know that you’re temporarily unavailable, are on a long vacation, or just to share your mood. information_source You can now test this feature on [try.discourse.org](http://try.discourse.org)How to use it To set custom status, …
For follows, see the following (pun not intended - wait, this has 2 meanings) plugin:
> [@Discourse Follow](https://meta.discourse.org/t/discourse-follow/110579):
>
> IMPORTANT WARNING: This plugin may affect whether laws that regulate social media apply to your forum. Consult legal for advice. discourse2Summary Discourse Follow allows users to follow other users, list the latest topics involving them, and receive notifications when they post.hammer_and_wrenchRepository Link [https://github.com/discourse/discourse-follow](https://github.com/discourse/discourse-follow)open_bookInstall Guide [How to install plugins in Discourse](https://meta.discourse.org/t/install-plugins-in-discourse/19157)Screenshots Followed users posts feed:
For additional ‘boxes on profiles’, I assume you’re referring to user fields? See:
> [@Creating and configuring custom user fields](https://meta.discourse.org/t/creating-and-configuring-custom-user-fields/113192):
>
> bookmark This guide explains how to create and configure custom user fields in Discourse, including how to add them to the signup form, user profiles, and user directory. person_raising_hand Required user level: Administrator Custom user fields allow you to collect additional information from your users beyond the standard profile fields. These fields can be displayed on user cards, user summary pages, and even retrieved using the [Data Explorer](https://meta.discourse.org/t/32566?silent=true) plugin. This guide will walk you through th…
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### Author:  [@NateDhaliwal](https://meta.discourse.org/u/NateDhaliwal)
#### Post date: [December 11, 2025, 1:01am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/social-features/390462/3 "2025-12-11T01:01:40Z")
Hey @beitmenotyou , did my reply above help answer your question? If not, you could elaborate further on any problems you may be facing? Thanks.