Requirements of a Social Media 

A Social Media System is a complex platform that facilitates digital interaction, content sharing, and user engagement. Its requirements must address user needs, content handling, scalability, and security, among other concerns. Below are the detailed requirements categorized into functional and non-functional.

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Functional Requirements (What the system should do)

• User Registration and Authentication:
  The system must allow users to sign up using an email or phone number and securely log in using a username-password combination. It should also support account recovery mechanisms like email verification or OTP.

 

• User Profile Management:
  Every user must have a profile where they can upload a picture, add bio information, and modify visibility settings such as public or private profiles. Profile data should be editable anytime.

 

• Posting Content (Text, Image, Video):
  Users should be able to create and share posts containing text, images, or videos. The system must validate file formats, enforce size limits, and handle media compression or optimization.

 

• Feed Generation and Display:
  The platform must generate a feed displaying posts from followed users, trending content, or suggested posts. This should be sorted by timestamp or relevance using a recommendation algorithm.

 

• Social Interaction (Like, Comment, Share):
  Users should be able to interact with posts by liking, commenting, and sharing them. Each interaction should trigger real-time updates and notifications to the post owner.

 

• Following and Followers Mechanism:
  The platform must allow users to follow or unfollow others. Updates from followed accounts must reflect on the user’s feed. Users should also be able to see their follower and following counts.

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Non-Functional Requirements (How the system should behave)

• Performance and Scalability:
  The system should support thousands to millions of concurrent users without noticeable degradation in performance. It should scale horizontally using distributed services and caching strategies.

 

• Security and Data Privacy:
  The application must implement encryption for stored passwords and secure communication using HTTPS. Data access should be role-based, and user privacy settings must be respected across all features.

 

• Availability and Fault Tolerance:
  The platform should be designed for high availability, ideally 99.9% uptime. Failover mechanisms and regular backups should be in place to avoid data loss or extended downtime.

 

• Usability and Accessibility:
  The interface must be intuitive, responsive, and accessible on multiple devices including desktops, tablets, and mobile phones. It should also be compatible with assistive technologies for inclusive use.

 

• Data Storage and Media Handling:
  The system must support efficient storage and retrieval of large volumes of user data, including high-resolution media. Cloud-based storage or CDNs may be used for optimal media delivery.

 

• Real-Time Notifications and Messaging:
  Users should receive notifications for likes, comments, new followers, and messages in real-time. This can be achieved through push notifications and websockets for active connections.