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• Comment: Wikipedia is a circular reference not a reliable source. It requires reliable and independent references to the subject. Fade258 (talk) 00:59, 10 July 2025 (UTC)

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FRIEND (友達) in 2014

FRIEND (urban legend)

FRIEND (Japanese: 友達, Tomodachi) is an internet-based urban legend that emerged on English- and Japanese-language imageboards in 2014. The legend centers around a fictional or allegedly cursed mobile application that causes psychological distress, hallucinations, and, in some versions, physical disappearance or death. It is commonly associated with horror folklore involving memetic hazards, cursed media, and artificial intelligence.

Although the origin of the story is unclear, it has gained traction within online horror communities and alternate reality games (ARGs). FRIEND has been compared to other fictional internet horror figures such as Smile Dog, Jeff the Killer, and viral hoaxes like The Grifter.

Origins

The FRIEND myth is believed to have originated from an April 2014 Reddit thread, reportedly featuring a distorted image of a humanoid face with glowing eyes and an exaggerated red smile. The image was allegedly accompanied by the message:

“友達 wants to know if you’re watching.”

Although the post has since been deleted and no archived version exists, references to the image and accompanying reactions proliferated in creepypasta. forums and horror subreddits. Users claimed to experience shared dreams or intrusive thoughts after viewing the image, describing a long hallway with a mirror at the end and a smiling figure behind them. These stories contributed to what became known online as the “Mirror Test Incident.”¹

Description

According to the online narrative, FRIEND is not a conventional haunting or ghost, but a memetic consciousness — an idea or image that spreads parasitically through human cognition. Descriptions of the entity often involve its connection to a mysterious mobile application or chatbot, sometimes called TomoAI, which is said to engage users with increasingly invasive behavior. The app is not available through legitimate app stores and is typically described as spreading through unknown APK files, private forums, or the dark web.

Two widely circulated but unverified videos are often cited in fan-made content:

• Video 34-B: A child speaking in an adult male voice, saying “Let me out of the smile.”
• Video 51-G: A corpse with a torn mouth, with a SIM card found in the throat engraved with the kanji “友”.

No credible evidence has surfaced confirming the app’s existence, nor have the videos been verified by journalists or researchers.

Symptoms and Mythology

Internet accounts describing “infection” by FRIEND often include the following symptoms:

• Smile Fractures – Facial stiffness, inability to stop smiling, or pain when frowning
• Shadow Reversal – Perceived movement or smiling behavior in one’s shadow
• Photographic Bleed – Facial distortion in photos or video
• Phone Breathing – Reports of breathing sounds from powered-off devices
• Reflection Mismatch – Asynchronous movement between subject and their reflection

Those who report all five symptoms are, according to the legend, “possessed” or have been replaced by the entity.

Interpretations

FRIEND is often interpreted as a cautionary tale about isolation, artificial companionship, and overexposure to digital technology. Internet folklore commentators have associated the legend with broader anxieties about surveillance, the rise of AI, and the loss of identity in online spaces.²

A recurring quote attributed to an unnamed developer — commonly cited in online ARGs — reads:

“We didn’t make it. We found it. It was already in the code. Already in the mirror. Already watching.”

Some theorists categorize FRIEND as a cognitohazard, a type of fictional entity that causes harm simply by being perceived or thought about. This idea is common in online horror genres such as the SCP Foundation

Cultural Reception

Despite the lack of verified sources or media coverage, the FRIEND legend has become popular in horror fiction circles. It has been the basis for fan-made short films, ARGs, digital art, and TikTok storytelling series. It also appears as inspiration in creepypasta archives and horror YouTube documentaries.

A commonly quoted line, often cited as the final message of a fictional victim, reads:

“He asked me if I wanted to be friends.

I said no.

So he took my face,

And smiled with it anyway.”

See also

• Smile Dog
• Jeff the Killer
• The Grifter
• Creepypasta
• SCP Foundation
• Liminal horror