Facebook. If you look someone up does it recommend you as a friend to them?

[Pibplob]

Anyone know if this is true? I'm very intrigued. I notice a few people on my recommended friends who I have no mutual friends with so wondered if it's true.

[SylviaTietjens]

It certainly seems to be the case. Fb says not, but lots of experiments by my friends and I suggest otherwise.

[AllRoadsLeadBackToRadley]

IIRC they come up on your "friend suggestions".

They also do this from time to time if you have mutual friends. So if you're having a nosey at someone's profile and you have mutual friends, there's your excuse! 😁

[CotswoldStrife]

I think it does something like this - I keep getting a friend suggestion and I think it's because someone (who I'm not friends with) used her child's profile to look at my FB page.

What I don't know is whether she (or in this case, the child!) also gets a suggestion to add me

[Pibplob]

Interesting! I may need to curb my stalkering too then. Thanks.

[BaronessBomburst]

Yes. It also recommends people from your email contacts, WhatsApp, and the email and WhatsApp contacts from anyone on a shared IP address. I frequently get DH's work colleagues recommended as potential friends if he's been working from home. DH doesn't have FB.
Either that or the entire office has been looking me up.

[Helena17]

I didn't know that. I thought it doesn't but reading the comments made me think a bit. I might have been suggested to a highschool crush for quite a while now. I hope not. :)

[Pibplob]

Hmmmm. So if no mutual friends, no what's app contact and no email contact they have been moseying at me? And I will come up on their suggestions if I've looked at their profile and no mutual friends etc etc.

[MissMustBeAMug]

Ooo I was wondering this.

I keep getting ex bil and an old acquaintance being suggested over and over again, like every couple of days or so.

It’s only been happening the last two months (but then I haven’t been on fab much before that so probably wouldn’t have noticed)

[Trills]

gizmodo.com/how-facebook-figures-out-everyone-youve-ever-met-1819822691

You might find this interesting

[Thinkingofausername1]

I've wondered too. I have occasionally has dh's colleagues pop up. Nosy cows

[honeyravioli]

It is categorically not true but endless people will insist it is.

100% totally not true. Fact.

[Happydoingitjusttheonce]

You need 3 online lives - public, private and secret

[MissMustBeAMug]

That’s interesting honeyravioli.

In that case has anyone got any idea why it is just the same two names cropping up repeatedly on my suggested friends?

It’s not like there isn’t a big pool of potential friends of friends there

[honeyravioli]

It's a pretty complicated algorithm that brings in various strands of information. But if I told you precisely how it worked I could lose my job, and worse!

[MissMustBeAMug]

(Whispers)

Could you tinker with it so I get some different friend suggestions please? I’m sick of these two.

[Intercom]

What about those of us who don't use Facebook? Does it collate info about us from everyone else's address book etc?

[Hobbes8]

honeyravioli does it track the location of your mobile phone? I've had two instances which made me think it might. Once I was in a restaurant and saw someone I vaguely recognised through work. We didn't even say hello, but were in the same restaurant at the same time, and she popped up as a recommendation that night.

The second was when I saw someone I recognised from around toddler groups. We were on the same bus, got off at the same stop, and went into the same building (it was Election Day and we both went into the polling station. She came up as a recommendation that night.

So I presume it knows that I was in the same viscinity of those people. Of course I might have friends in common with both of them, given I either work in the same field or have children the same age, but they'd never come up before.

[Pibplob]

Ooh the plot thickens. So honeyravioli, we can stalk all we like and we won't come on the stalkee's list? Are you sure? 😂

Slightly intrigued by loosing your job and worse

[Trills]

I'm going to post this link again - Facebook knows some things about you that don't necessarily come from you.

gizmodo.com/how-facebook-figures-out-everyone-youve-ever-met-1819822691

One of the things that Facebook often does is ask "do you want to upload your contacts, so we can use that info to help find your friends?"

You might not have done this, but some of your friends will have. So Facebook will know that Sarah Jones, who is friends with Pib Plob, has a contact in her phone under the name Pib Plob with the number 07123 456789 and the email address [email protected]. If your other Facebook friend Rachel Stevens also has a contact called Pib Plob and the number 07123 456789, Facebook can feel pretty sure that that's your number, even if you never told it your number.

[hula008]

I’m sure I’ve read that Facebook suggestions can also come from proximity to other phones

[Glitteryfrog]

I'm not convinced by proximity.
Facebook doesn't suggest I should be friends with my work colleagues and we obviously all sit next to each other all day.

[honeyravioli]

Ooh the plot thickens. So honeyravioli, we can stalk all we like and we won't come on the stalkee's list? Are you sure?

Yes, absolutely sure.

I’m sure I’ve read that Facebook suggestions can also come from proximity to other phones

Not in that sense, no.

[Pibplob]

Homeyravioli - I hope you're right! I'm a bit confused how fandoms come up in my list tho but will stalk and hope you are correct! 😂

[Intercom]

I'm guessing it scans your messages and notices which people and places you mention.

[LolaTheDarkdestroyer]

No it really doesn't, it will recommended them to you a few days later, people are too paranoid about Facebook.