Facebook uses an innovative algorithm to recommend possible friends. This algorithm can be perplexing, and many users have wondered whether the individuals Facebook proposes to them are stalkers who have gotten connected with the profile through search history or profile views.
Learning From The Blog
This article answers issues against suggested Facebook friends, such as someone who will be suggested as a friend if they open someone’s page.
If You Search for Someone On Facebook, Will You Be Suggested As A Friend?
Stalking someone on Facebook is constantly accessing a user’s profile with whom you are not presently friends to keep up with what they are posting.
This sort of behavior is largely innocuous due to the nature of social media, but it can make users worried about being suggested to the user if they want to keep their stalking a secret.
Fortunately, Facebook does not base friend suggestions on profile viewing history. Certain Facebook app behaviors can be taken into account when proposing friends, however, just visiting someone’s profile who you are not presently friends with will not cause you to be suggested to them.
Also Read: 48 Powerful Facebook Statistics and Facts You Need to Know.
Algorithms Explained!! How Does Facebook Suggest Search Algorithm Works?
The Facebook suggested friends algorithm is complicated, gathering information from your account and, in certain situations, your mobile device to propose friends to you properly.
Some of the most important characteristics that influence who you are recommended are as follows:
1. They Follow You
One of the most typical reasons you are being recommended to someone on Facebook is that they already follow you. Users can follow a profile without sending a friend request unless the profile restricts following.
If you follow someone you are not presently friends with, the Facebook suggested friends algorithm can connect your accounts, leading them to show in your suggested profiles.
2. You Have Mutual Friends
The Facebook suggested friends algorithm also considers the number of mutual friends you have with other users. If the computer discovers that you fulfill the criterion for the suggestion, which is generally a mutual friend count of 25% or higher, you may be referred to each other.
The algorithm bases its judgment on the presumption that you have at least heard of each other because you have many mutual friends.
This is not always true, but you can identify the individual in most cases, even if you do not know them directly.
3. People In Group Chats Are Friends With Them
Facebook can connect with your phone’s contacts to better identify which friends to recommend. If you have Facebook linked with your phone’s contacts and someone you know joins a group chat with another user, the algorithm exploits that relationship to link your profiles.
This will result in you being recommended to each other.
Also Read: Should You Use Hashtags on Facebook?
4. They Are In Your Contacts
Facebook uses your phone’s contacts to provide more accurate friend suggestions on the app. If Facebook finds a contact number connected with a Facebook account with which you are not already friends, the profile will be suggested to you automatically.
This tool might make it simple to discover friends on Facebook from your contacts. For this to operate properly, you must have your Facebook contacts synchronized and contact numbers connected with a Facebook account.
5. Instagram Pals, Maybe!?
Instagram and Facebook are essentially the same thing. They are both owned by the same firm and share the same pools of user data. If you have both an Instagram and a Facebook account, the people you follow on Instagram will influence the recommendations you receive on Facebook.
If Facebook discovers that you are following someone on Instagram with whom you are not already friends, the suggested friend’s algorithm will automatically pair you up.
6. You Have Similar Interests
While looking for a user will not inevitably result in a link made by the Facebook suggested friends algorithm, searching for similar interests may assist the system in matching your profile with another.
Check out our recent article on “Facebook or Instagram: Which Platform is Best For Marketing?”
How To Stop Being Suggested On Facebook?
You can do a few things to lower your chances of being suggested to other Facebook users if you want to cease being suggested. The following are some examples of how individuals commonly do this:
1. Edit How People Can Find You On Facebook?
The first step in limiting your exposure on the Facebook app is to adjust your profile settings to limit how others may locate your profile. This is a rather straightforward procedure.
- Log in to your account first, then go to the menu in the Facebook app.
- Then select the Settings and Privacy option.
- Then, adjust your account permissions in the “How People Can Find And Contact You” area to prevent anyone from discovering your profile using your email, phone number, or outside search engines.
2. Change Your Location
You can update your location permissions in the same menu to prevent Facebook from accessing your location. This makes it far more difficult for Facebook’s suggested buddy algorithm to link you with relevant accounts.
3. Make Your Friends List Private
Consider keeping your friends list private if you don’t want outsiders adding mutual friends who may link your profiles.
This will make it more difficult for users to force a suggestion by adding many mutual friends.
4. Make An Alternate Account
Using a different account is one of the only methods to minimize your exposure on the app. As your profile will not be related to any shared friends, schools, or contact numbers, you will not appear in any suggested friend list.
- You can use a VPN to conceal your identity on the app further.
- This is a fantastic option for someone who primarily uses Facebook for news and entertainment rather than to contact friends and family.
Read More: Can You See Who Views Your Featured Photos on Facebook?
FAQs
Facebook says that your user search history is not considered by the Facebook suggestion algorithm. This implies that those who have just looked for your profile will not be included in your suggested friends list.
Who has visited your profile does not affect your Facebook friend suggestions. While Facebook most certainly possesses data on who has seen your profile, the user cannot access this information easily.
This allows users to maintain anonymity while seeing profiles of others with whom they are not presently friends on Facebook.
Private accounts limit the material and activity viewed on a certain profile.
This will not prevent you from being added to someone’s suggested friend list on Facebook. If you match the algorithm’s requirements for accurate friend suggestions, you will be advised whether your profile is private.
Final Thoughts
Despite privacy concerns, Facebook’s suggested friend algorithm is a technological triumph. It is a highly sophisticated algorithm that often produces reliable friend suggestions based on data acquired from app users.
This tutorial has dissected several of the key criteria that determine the friends that Facebook suggests to you. You can now use the information in this tutorial to increase or decrease your chances of getting included in someone’s suggested friend’s list.
