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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to be horrified that people may know I've viewed their Facebook page?

348 replies

icouldjusteatacroissant · 12/10/2015 14:05

Facebook deny it, but there's massive talk on the net that if you look at someone's page, you pop up on their suggested list or people you may know list. Maybe not straight away, but you do appear at some point

Am I the only one who looks at their ex's or whoevers pages, photos, etc?

I am horrified they may know I've been snooping Shock

OP posts:
Garrick · 14/10/2015 01:01

having searched for someone and viewed their profile, they DON'T appear on my suggested friends list. Does anyone else have this?

Yeah, me Grin Mind you, I've never scrolled through all Xty thousand suggestions. I don't even look at them except when there's a thread like this.

And my MN crush has accepted my friend request!

Garrick · 14/10/2015 01:08

Moln Grin Superb remark!

PuntasticUsername · 14/10/2015 06:52

"I do know it's true because unlike you, I know that I've thought of every possibility".

Oh good GRIEF.

noblegiraffe · 14/10/2015 07:06

That comment is a good example of the Dunning-Kruger effect.

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning–Kruger_effect

Trills · 14/10/2015 08:38

Constance - I believe you.

I can tell you a lot of things for certain about the company that I work for (and I haven't even read the code), that I then would not be able to say anything further about.

TeaPleaseLouise · 14/10/2015 08:44

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Trills · 14/10/2015 08:50

To be fair, Constance could be lying, but so could any of us.

There is no way we can have any conclusion.

Original poster
icouldjusteatacroissant · 14/10/2015 09:37

well, I am the OP!

This thread is a revelation, but I'm not any nearer to an answer. Enjoying the banter though Grin

OP posts:
ThatsDissapointing · 14/10/2015 10:29

I don't believe that Facebook suggest 'People you know' by suggesting people you have stalked looked at BUT they could if they wanted to Wink and that's one of the many reasons I am very happy not having Facebook.

I don't necessarily trust Facebook but thay have categorically stated that they don't do this so it would be bad business if they were lying as it would be such a simple thing for someone to prove.

SouthAmericanCuisine · 14/10/2015 10:45

I would hazard a guess that the "search history" data is used for something, even if it's not used for suggesting people you may know, purely because if it wasn't useful data to FB, they wouldn't store it.

I delete my search history regularly. I realise it could be archived somewhere, but hey, it's something!

ConstanceMarkYaBitch · 14/10/2015 10:59

Well, the main reason to store your searches is to suggest things when you next search. It's not particularly useful information otherwise, not compared to most everything thats stored about you.

leedy · 14/10/2015 12:34

Yup. As Constance says, one of the main things FB wants you to do is keep using FB, because that is what makes them money via advertising. Adding a feature that basically turns people off viewing pages because they feel their viewing habits will be used to trigger some unwanted action is just terrible business sense.

Booyaka · 14/10/2015 12:43

It bloody is true. Because when I was (briefly) banned from Mumsnet all these odd names I had no connection to popped up on mine. I put two and two together and googled the names with 'Mumsnet' and they were all members of staff at Mumsnet. Obviously checking out the profile linked to my email to check I was real.

specialsubject · 14/10/2015 12:50

I've done some research on my small sample of one facebook account. Took a bit of doing to find the 'people you may know' bit.

some I do know - friends of friends
some I've looked at
some I've looked up elsewhere (family tree research)
many I've absolutely never heard of.
one or two I've looked at (dodgy friends of good friends) do NOT come up.

so on this one non-scientific study, I say 'no evidence' and I won't be putting on my tinfoil hat. Smile

there is a phenomenon of leaks between windows tabs, and I do tend to have several open at once. So that seems more likely.

ScribblerOnTheRoof · 14/10/2015 12:51

I took a call from an angry customer in work, two days later they appeared in my suggested friends. It is true

ConstanceMarkYaBitch · 14/10/2015 14:37

Ok, lets be logical here:

Evidence for it to be NOT TRUE:

  1. It makes no commercial sense for FB, and would actually cost them money if it were proven to be true. FB likes money, so to use it would be highly illogical.
  2. If its true, FB have lied repeatedly about it. Including to its own employees. And also nothing has leaked to prove its true, which would be unlikely.
  3. There are much much better ways to suggest people you make know. Any ways are better. This would be the worst one.
  4. Someone who has actually seen how its done and been involved with it has told you it's not true.

Evidence for it not to be true:

1.Lots of people can't think of, or be convinced of, all the other ways it might have been suggested.

  1. You say so.

Now, even if you think (2) that yes, FB obviously are big lying liars, so take that out. And obviously I might be a big liar too, so take no 4 out. And you don't really understand the process of how it works, so go ahead and ignore no 3 as well.

So bottom line, and lets break it down further, we have no 1: FB likey money, big time. Suggesting FYMK based on who you search for not makey money, but cost money, because makes users leave FB. So why would FB cost themselves money, instead of make money? And then stage a big cover up, of this loss making, pointless, unnecessary exercise?

Don't believe me. But do try some basic logic.

IKnowIAmButWhatAreYou · 14/10/2015 15:35

I took a call from an angry customer in work, two days later they appeared in my suggested friends. It is true

More likely that they had a look at your profile & accidentally clicked "add friend" then cancelled it hastily....

ConstanceMarkYaBitch · 14/10/2015 15:39

Or when they called you, they saved your number and work title or address into the contacts of their phone. Or a few other ways.

PacificMouse · 14/10/2015 15:46

I have a few customers in my 'people you may know'. These are people I've never looked at, that I haven't seen for YEARS and arent connected with that email address. I also haven't rung them for that length of time (more than 3 years so different phone etc).
So I'm really wondering. How did FB 'know'?
There is something in their algorithm to allow them to do that. I would like to know what (and it's not an easy straight answer).
Interestingly, my work FB page (different account and email) doesn't show these people even though the email and the tel number are the ones 'connected' to these people Confused

PacificMouse · 14/10/2015 15:48

That's oy true though if your phone number itv email is the same than your work one surely?? Otherwise how is FN going to know they should link xxx tel number to xxx number and associated account Confused

ConstanceMarkYaBitch · 14/10/2015 16:02

No, not necessarily. There are many ways to link people and an awful lot of information available about everyone if you know where to look.

PacificMouse · 14/10/2015 16:44

Tbh I think that idea is even worse than thinking it's just liking up peopleSad

PacificMouse · 14/10/2015 16:45

And it makes me understand why some people are hot on protecting their privacy on the Internet.

Garrick · 14/10/2015 17:02

There are many ways to link people and an awful lot of information available about everyone if you know where to look.

I'm going to try a non-technical illustration of how it's about more than phone numbers & emails.

Let's say I know the following things about you:

Your name, Jane Jones.
Your general location, Bristol UK.
You often post about bees.
The names & approximate ages of the people you talk about most often.

I'll suggest them as friends if you haven't already got them.

That you were in Sicily this June.
Your Sicily photos featured one man and two children that you talk about.

That you do Zumba at your local community centre.

I'll suggest your Zumba classmates as friends.

I also have the same kind of info about half the people you know.
One of your Zumba friends' friends was in Sicily at the same time as you.

I'll suggest them as a friend.
And the people they went with who also do Zumba,
or live in Bristol,
or know anyone that you know.

The man in your holiday photos has old pictures of himself in India.
There are three people in his India photos that I recognise from Facebook.
One is an apiarist.

I'll suggest them as a friend.
One lives in Bristol and does Zumba.
I'll suggest them, too.

Just for the hell of it, I might suggest a bee expert who lives in Sicily to both you and your partner's old travelling companion.

None of this requires phone numbers; it's old-fashioned matchmaking, souped up by computers :)

I really should join some non-angsty groups and things, so I can get a wider variety of suggestions!

fanjoforthemammaries7850 · 14/10/2015 17:05

A lot of it has to be location. Every day patients from work pop up in my "people you might know" list. And this is on my days off too, and not people I have served, so i seriously doubt they are looking me up.