Being nosy on FB she has now sent me a friend request

[Shitwithsugar]

I was being nosy on FB. Put in a name and within 5 minutes I get a friend request from her. I've met her once. She is the wife of one of my husband's teammates and the mother of another.

Why are you snooping?

Did you accidentally like one of her posts or photos while nosing? I had someone do this to me, my cousin's partner who I've only met a handful of times and don't really know was obviously having a nose and liked one of my old photos then sent a friend request obviously in a panic knowing I'd seen the notification. I found it funny, if she wants gossip or drama my Facebook is not the place, it's spectacularly boring.

are you sure it’s a friend request rather than FB suggesting that you add her?

if it is a request, probably the algorithm instantly suggested you to her as “people you may know”.

Wasn’t there some random glitch a while ago where people “sent” friend requests to every page they’d been snooping on? I remember there was a way to check as my mother had a ridiculous amount 🫣

There was and I ended up friends with someone whose profile Id looked at after he posted something in a local group

Either he then unfriended me or the glitch reversed itself as the next time I saw a post from him we weren't friends

@FionnulaTheCooler yes there were some photos on FB of the team winning something. I liked it and clicked on her page to see if I could see anymore.

So what is it you need help with?

Because people in general are hardwired to be nosy, and the more accessible information that people put about themselves on social media for the world to see, the less I worry about being that nosy bastard who goes snooping. If it wasn't to be known publicly, then it shouldn't be made publicly available.

As it stands, I think it's incredibly wrong that the likes of Companies House, Rightmove, and Land Registry make as much available as they do, and no one has a say in that at all. But social media is totally down to us to ring-fence.

Because she's human?. Who doesn't enjoy a good Facebook nosey!. I would just decline the friend request and deny all knowledge.

Companies House? The information about companies and individuals on there is legally in the public domain (as it should be), and businesses are obliged to provide it. It is a matter of public record and to ensure legal accountability and transparency in business dealings.

So what point are you making?

Well you said you thought it was wrong for Companies House to have that information on there, and I was pointing out that it is their legal obligation to do so. I'd be interested to know why you feel it is 'incredibly wrong'.

I bloody love Companies House.

Is it a friend request or is it a friend suggestion? I get those and they are just under the friend requests and it freaks me out. They are just suggestions because I’ve looked at their profiles or they have some connection to me on Facebook.

More than likely, you have liked one of the photos, which has prompted her to add you. Or you have come up as a suggestion for her because you viewed her profile.

I did that once with someone I went to school with 35 years ago who had a perfect insta life on fb which i got a little obsessed with during a dull period in my own life, ended up becoming fb friends despite not speaking since 1991 and never being particularly close at the time either!

I mean, why not accept it what's the worst that can happen.

I still follow her now when I'm bored!

You will have shown on People You May know once you’d nosied.

Fair enough, although what I actually said was I think it's incredibly wrong that the likes of Companies House, Rightmove, and Land Registry make as much available as they do, meaning that for any person at all who is in any way a director of a limited company, their name, home address (in many cases), and date of birth can be accessed in a heartbeat, thanks to Companies House.

Now, if it's a tycoon whose accounts need to be freely available and whose address is not their home address or whatever and so on & so forth, that's one thing, but when it's old Mrs Down-the-road who lives alone in her 2-bed flat and owns her share of a freehold which therefore means she is by default now a director of the limited company which owns the overall freehold - and this is very much a genuine example, there are many others (for instance I know one lady who was a volunteer for a local museum and was listed on Companies House, due to the way the position was structured) - I think that is really quite wrong. I suppose this is why data breaches and hacks on computer systems at the likes of the Co-Op and M&S don't make me bat an eyelid, as there is so much already legitimately out there with our details all over it.

It's not snooping to look at somebody's public FB page!

This is often said, but no one has ever been able to provide me with evidence to prove it...I think in the case of the OP it's clear what's happened; she went onto a photo and "liked" it, and from there the person she "snooped" at was minded to send her a friend request. I would be prepared to bet on the fact that it was seeing the OP "liking" the photo that put the idea into her head, but we'll never know.

That is exactly my point. I might go to huge efforts to look for things, but I can only see what people are making available!

"for any person at all who is in any way a director of a limited company, their name, home address (in many cases),"

It's their own choice to use their home address. Some freelancers use their accountants', for example.

" know one lady who was a volunteer for a local museum and was listed on Companies House, due to the way the position was structured)"

So she wasn't just a volunteer was she? Sounds like she was a member of the board or something. That makes you publicly responsible.

Yes, but you said it was being 'nosy'. I'm arguing there's nothing wrong with it.

It isn't always their choice though, that's my point. The lady I know who is listed on Companies House as a director for the organisation she volunteers for hadn't a clue she had her home address listed online. She's 86 (I know this, as it's on Companies House 😂) and isn't exactly "up" on all these matters.

Even if her address is changed, it won't be taken off, as it will be recorded online as "address changed from X to Y".

Well yes, she had some responsibilities. I am not arguing that, you are correct. Her position was listed as being one of the directors, but then as I already said about another example, so it would be too if you owned your share of a freehold in a flat you lived in - you'd be a "director" of a company, because that's how it works.