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Original poster

Facebook ! Is it true if you stalk people you will come up on their friends you might know list?

222 replies

bigchris · 01/10/2017 19:33

Please tell me it isn't so ?

Iabu to be freaked out by this !

OP posts:
tippz · 01/10/2017 20:59

Yeah it's true. I don't know why people are trying to make out it isn't. Confused It is perfectly logical that it could happen. Facebook will make a log of who you looked at, and will save the information. And then your profile will pop up on that person's 'people you may know' list.

Ebay does something similar; it makes a record of everything I look at, even if I don't put it in my 'watch' list. It still says 'items you looked at.' So why on earth would facebook not do the same?

I have had a snoop at people I used to know, and lo and behold, their friends (and them) have come up on my 'people you may know' list the next time I log in. It retains the information. And there is a very real chance that your name will come up on THEIR 'people you may know list' too. It's very naive to assume it doesn't.

Some people who I don't know often pop up on mine, and they may have been stalking me/looking at my profile - OR it could be we are just be linked by mutual friends.

I have, however, had several people pop up (from the past) who are not on the friends list of ANY of my friends. I suspect they were stalking me and I block them.

If you wanna stalk someone, make a fake account with a fake name, or they will almost certainly know you have been stalking them.

bangingmyheadoffabrickwall · 01/10/2017 21:01

Oh and if that is the case, a PUB also must have spied on me too! Grin

ChardonnaysPrettySister · 01/10/2017 21:03

If you wanna stalk someone, make a fake account with a fake name, or they will almost certainly know you have been stalking them.

I have some of those in People you might know, funny accounts with no friends. Clearly exes.

Seti · 01/10/2017 21:04

It's definitely true.

Obviously not all your suggested friends have stalked you - hence a pub being there Grin

We proved it a couple of years ago. Haven't been so keen on stalking since ShockBlush

SemiNormal · 01/10/2017 21:04

bangingmyheadoffabrickwall - I don't think anyone is suggesting that ONLY people who have stalked you/you have stalked will show up as a suggested friend, it's just one of the ways Facebook works out if you may know a person.

tippz · 01/10/2017 21:06

As I said, it doesn't NECESSARILY mean they have been spying; you may have mutual friends, or one of your friends who you have been speaking to on facebook may have said they WENT to that pub, and it comes up on your profile.

But if anyone thinks if they stalk an ex or an old friend/relative, that their profile won't be flagged up as a 'person they may know,' (to the person they are stalking,) then they are very naive. Of COURSE you will pop up on their facebook.

I have seen it happen many times to people I know - and many people on here are giving examples.

Original poster
bigchris · 01/10/2017 21:08

I think it's best i stop stalking Blush

OP posts:
danTDM · 01/10/2017 21:08

Either way, there are a myriad of reasons you may appear. Nobody knows for sure either, so just shrug it off and play on the safe side OP People who say 'it's 100% true, my doctors husbands DD turned up'

Cannot possibly know.

WaveWash · 01/10/2017 21:08

I don't think it does.

ChardonnaysPrettySister · 01/10/2017 21:11

Just make a fake account and stalk away OP.

One of my dogs has his account and has been stalking researching extensively.

Earthlingshlaag · 01/10/2017 21:12

I think it just tries to make connections. My DH has an old account that he doesn't use and has no friends, not even me anymore.
However he gets email notifications of people he may know, which imcludes most of my friends and loads that aren't. He has no profile picture and nothing public that anyone could see. My friends list is set to private.
I added a new girl from work last week. Straight away he got an email suggesting her as a friend but they can't have looked each other up as there's just no way they could've known who/what they were looking for.

Medwaymumoffour · 01/10/2017 21:13

It's not supposed to be true but I have my doubts.

A old school friend pooped up on my 'people you might know'

Now I only have one friend from school on FB. Neither she or me have our school anywhere on FB. We both have new married names. There no link to her. I don't have my school or childhood town on FB. This person lives the other end of the country for me.

The only reason I can think of is she was looking at my profile via my mates, mates FB page and that's how she got flagged up.

My FB is locked down. Unless your a friend of a friend you can't even find me

Medwaymumoffour · 01/10/2017 21:14

Popped up - not pooped - that would totally freak me out

winglesspegasus · 01/10/2017 21:15

people need to be liscensed to use the internet

the ebay tracking is a perfect example btw
and pretty much all online entities do it
ever filled out a survey/then got emails for the things you mentioned in the survey????where do you think cyberspam comes from?

danTDM · 01/10/2017 21:18

But so is mine medway Me and DH are the only friends each other has. DH has a ridiculous bogus name and doesn't USE facebook, ever.

Think 'John Smith', and he is not British. However, I have 50 friends requests from Lithuanians who 100% don't know me, or my name. But, my DH obvs has my email address which is some way linked to facebook which I DON'T USE!

There is a tenuous link for all of this, sadly. I have zero info on facebook as does DH.

danTDM · 01/10/2017 21:21

TBH in my opinion, stalking is the least of the problems. Anyway OP, it can so easily be explained away.

merkava · 01/10/2017 21:21

Is your husband Lithuanian danTDM?

Olympiathequeen · 01/10/2017 21:21

That’s horrifying to know they have access to your email contacts Shock

Going to check my privacy settings again as they seem to 'forget' them sometimes!

ChardonnaysPrettySister · 01/10/2017 21:22

I never do surveys.

I do use Google and this is where the information about me comes from.

youokayhun · 01/10/2017 21:25

When I was doing the online dating thing it didn't take me long to notice that within 24 hours of inputting a new guys number into my phone they appeared in my people you may know. Without fail. I even tested it when I started to notice!

winglesspegasus · 01/10/2017 21:25

google/gmail/any android device one and the same.

winglesspegasus · 01/10/2017 21:27

try duckduckgo for a search engine/the engine doesnt track you but once you go to a site all bets are off,

JennyOnAPlate · 01/10/2017 21:29

I think it’s probably true. I’ve just looked at my people you may know and there are three people on there who I don’t have any mutual friends with. Why else would they be being suggested?

Gemini69 · 01/10/2017 21:29

Yes it's true.. you create an electronic footprint... the system feeds from this and assumes you must be linked even in some small way and tries to connect you ...

TwatteryFlowers · 01/10/2017 21:29

Stalk someone, look at all their posts and images etc etc (being super careful not to accidentally like something) and then block them!