Relevant Activity Feed
The Enable Relevant Activity setting filters the sitewide BuddyPress activity directory so that a logged-in member sees only activity that is meaningful to them: posts from people they follow or are friends with, groups they have joined, forum threads they are subscribed to, and updates that mention them.
This is different from the merged Newsfeed tab on member profiles. The Relevant Activity feature applies to the Activity directory page (the sitewide feed), not to a member’s own profile tabs.
What activity is included
Section titled “What activity is included”When Relevant Activity is enabled, the activity directory shows posts matching any of the following criteria:
The member’s own activity. Posts made by the logged-in member.
Friends’ activity. Posts from members who are friends, via the BuddyPress Friends component (friends_get_friend_user_ids()). If the Friends component is not active, this source is skipped.
Followed members’ activity. Posts from members the logged-in user follows, via the BP-Follow plugin (bp_get_following_ids()). If BP-Follow is not installed, this source is skipped.
Group activity. Activity posted in groups the member has joined (groups_get_user_groups()). If the Groups component is not active, this source is skipped.
Forum subscriptions. Activity from bbPress forum topics the member is subscribed to, stored in the _bbp_subscriptions user meta. If bbPress is not active, this source is skipped.
Mentions. Any activity post whose content contains @username matching the logged-in member’s username. This is a LIKE search on the activity content column.
Each source is checked independently. Unavailable plugins or inactive components are silently skipped. The filter only adds the sources that exist.
How to enable it
Section titled “How to enable it”- Go to WB Plugins > Newsfeed in WordPress admin.
- Click the General tab.
- Turn on Enable Relevant Activity.
- Save changes.
The setting only appears when BuddyBoss Platform is not active. If you are running BuddyBoss, BuddyBoss provides its own equivalent feed and this toggle is hidden (see Compatibility).
What changes for members
Section titled “What changes for members”After enabling, members who visit the sitewide activity directory see a filtered feed rather than all public activity. Members who are not logged in see the unfiltered public activity, because the filter only runs for authenticated users.
Members with no friends, no groups, no followed users, and no subscriptions will see only their own activity plus any posts that mention them.
Performance note
Section titled “Performance note”The relevant activity filter builds a database query that includes all of a member’s friend IDs, followed user IDs, and group IDs in a single IN(...) clause. On large sites with members who have thousands of connections, this query can become slow. If you run a large community, test this setting with realistic data volumes before enabling it in production.
Relationship to the Newsfeed tab
Section titled “Relationship to the Newsfeed tab”The Relevant Activity feature and the Newsfeed tab (merged activity feed) are independent of each other:
| Feature | Where it applies |
|---|---|
| Newsfeed tab (merged feed) | Member profile > Activity section |
| Relevant Activity | Sitewide activity directory page |
You can enable either or both independently. Most sites enable both for a consistent experience across profile pages and the sitewide feed.
Related settings
Section titled “Related settings”| Setting | Path |
|---|---|
| Enable Relevant Activity | WB Plugins > Newsfeed > General |
See General Settings for full field descriptions.