How Does Facebook Suggest Friends

Facebook’s ‘People you may know’ is a phrase that sounds innocent, if a little formal- ‘Oh come to this party! There will be many people you may know! ' - But in the last few years it has become synonymous with the horribly correctly suggested Friends Carousel where people are shown who, yes, you know but, oh my God, how will Facebook know you know them ?! Is Mark Zuckerberg really a magician? Or more relevantly, what is the basis for Facebook's proposed friends? Is it stalking? Is it based on profile view? What exactly does that mean?

In this regard, Facebook's official line, on their help page, explains that they select your proposed friends based on 'mutual friends, work and education information, the networks you are part of, your imported contacts and many other factors'. It's the 'other factors' that are most interesting, considering how vague they are - especially when a proposed friend is cropped, and you have no mutual friends.

Who suggested to my friends on Facebook and why?

Just a brief scan on my own current proposed friends, there are at least three people I have never met, I have never worked with them, we never went to the same school, I have no mutual friends and they are not in my acquaintance. One of them is one that I'm pretty sure, after a quick search on other social media sites, is now seeing my ex. Then why is he being advised ?! Is this related to the 'other factors' mentioned by Facebook? I don't know him! Were we in the same cafe once? Is he, quite understandably, chasing me? Have we found the final answer to how you can tell when people have viewed my profile ?!

Is Facebook the proposed friends algorithm - based on what?

Many questions, and many conspiracy theories. Fortunately, I've done hysterical research, so when you sleep with the guy who never did WhatsApp and you can't stop thinking about your proposed friends pop up, you don't have to.

What are your proposed friends based on your location?

In one of the best cases of 'ER, no I don't mean, stop', Facebook revealed in 2016 that location data was one of the reasons for the proposed potential friends, a few days before withdrawing it and saying that they did not. Cool.

There were several slightly worrying reports about how accurate the supposed algorithm was; Violet Blue, a cybercrime reporter, tweeted, "Importantly, I've had enough journalists ask me, panicked, why Facebook is recommending them as a safe source."

An investigation has uncovered a number of fictitious pieces of evidence pointing to the use of fusion location services. One example is a man who attended an anonymous rally for suicidal teens and then saw one of the teens with whom he had no contact other than being in the same place, popping up as a proposed friend. They contacted Facebook who said: 'Location information does not in itself indicate that two people may be friends, so location is a factor we use to advise people you know.'

When Fusion published an article, understandably, it explained how it was a privacy mess - Facebook immediately withdrew it. The statement was changed to the fact that the location services were trialled a year ago, but was not one of the 'very vague' other reasons described on the support site.

The reporter in question described 'Reporterial Whiplash' - I never confirmed a spokesperson and never retracted a story so quickly.

One way to close any app using your location is to change your phone's location settings, or get rid of the Facebook app and use it on a good ole Safari. Other browsers available.

What are your proposed friends based on who has visited your profile?

There's no hard evidence that someone else's activity affected your page - and a Facebook employee was fairly clear about their position in a recent Quora thread:

What are your proposed friends based on your phone contacts?

This one is a definite yes. In one of the many app updates, you inadvertently synced all your phone contacts to Messenger. And if you allow Facebook to sync your phone contacts, it will suggest you to connect with them online. It can be weird, though, if you don't realize you're in the company of people because you're drunk, they'll suggest you again.

Is the advice of Facebook friends based on other third party apps like Tinder?

There is no official line on this. In fact, if they try, it can no longer be a 'no' because they say on the site: 'We do not use cookies from third party sites to create or rank people you know'. Well you are then.

However, if you're a little upset to see Tinder matches / people you've bumbled suddenly start cropping, you're not alone - this is a recent thing. And if you don't have their number on your phone, how will they know if they don't get it through Tinder?

Can you turn off or remove friends from Facebook?

Yes - indirectly. If you block someone, they will not show up in your list of suggested friends. So if the people in your past are particularly aroused, it may be worth taking a deep breath, drinking whiskey (or, for example, a glass of juice) and doing the work.

Oh, and you know how you can pinpoint the people you don't want to come across in that awesome On This Day feature? They won't even come in your suggested friends - it might be a good idea if you don't want to block someone all-out, you don't want them to pop up all the time.

About Debmalya Datta

Welcome to our blog “CYBER SUGGEST“. Debmalya Datta is a professional Blogger, Developer, Social Media Influencer, Digital Marketer and Entrepreneur. He loves doing work which makes him happy, that’s why he choose Blogging and Educate people. You will love exploring educational stuff on our blog. Live your dreams as much as you can. Be a SHAMELESS SELF-PROMOTER