Facebook: Who Chooses Friend Suggestions?
Solved
almazy
Posted messages
2
Status
Membre
-
Cowboye -
Cowboye -
Hello,
On my Facebook home page, I regularly see a "friend suggestion." I only want to accept these suggestions if they are not an automatic feature of the Facebook application. I would like to know what the situation is. Are friend suggestions sometimes? always? never? ... an automatic feature generated by the app's algorithm?
Or are they sometimes generated by friends?
If so, is there a way for me to know which of my friends suggested a new friend to me?
Thank you in advance.Configuration: Windows Vista
Firefox 3.0.10
On my Facebook home page, I regularly see a "friend suggestion." I only want to accept these suggestions if they are not an automatic feature of the Facebook application. I would like to know what the situation is. Are friend suggestions sometimes? always? never? ... an automatic feature generated by the app's algorithm?
Or are they sometimes generated by friends?
If so, is there a way for me to know which of my friends suggested a new friend to me?
Thank you in advance.Configuration: Windows Vista
Firefox 3.0.10
62 réponses
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
Suivant
I just skimmed through the messages that each of you left. And I think I have a very simple answer to your questions:
For those who no longer want to see these "suggestions," you just need to go to "settings," "privacy," "search," and choose "friends only" who are allowed to see your profile. ^^
- The people who appear in your "friend suggestions" with whom you have no mutual friends, whose email addresses you don't have, but whom you know by sight or at least have met before, are simply people who found you on Facebook by chance and clicked on your profile, whether it's public or not.
- From there, Facebook has "registered" that click and therefore considers that you know each other.
- This has nothing to do with the fact that Facebook has enough information about you to guess the people you might know.
For those who no longer want to see these "suggestions," you just need to go to "settings," "privacy," "search," and choose "friends only" who are allowed to see your profile. ^^
Hello,
So, to simplify things, for friend suggestions:
- Facebook uses your contact list from your email address
- Facebook sends you friend suggestions: displayed as a notification
- Facebook sends you suggestions for pages you've visited
- Facebook sends you suggestions of your friends' friends
Nothing more.
Now, for some, instead of asking the same question over and over, it would be good to read the answers from time to time
@+
So, to simplify things, for friend suggestions:
- Facebook uses your contact list from your email address
- Facebook sends you friend suggestions: displayed as a notification
- Facebook sends you suggestions for pages you've visited
- Facebook sends you suggestions of your friends' friends
Nothing more.
Now, for some, instead of asking the same question over and over, it would be good to read the answers from time to time
@+
I think, but I'm not sure, that it's about people who regularly view your profile being automatically suggested to you; I don't see any other explanation.
Hello,
I have a suggested person, however, my Facebook profile is not public and we have no mutual friends.
So:
- She doesn’t know I have a Facebook profile.
- Facebook could not rely on mutual friends.
The only solution: Facebook used the contact list from her messaging (where I appear) and found me.
Best regards.
I have a suggested person, however, my Facebook profile is not public and we have no mutual friends.
So:
- She doesn’t know I have a Facebook profile.
- Facebook could not rely on mutual friends.
The only solution: Facebook used the contact list from her messaging (where I appear) and found me.
Best regards.
I have an anonymous account to correspond with only one person... I am being suggested friends of hers but also people she doesn't know... People I know but who aren't in my email contacts, just the phone numbers on my cell... More worrying, I'm being suggested contacts of my partner who doesn't have Facebook!!!!
Indeed, it's very strange and it worries me a bit. I've seen 3 cases of different friend suggestions:
- a friend suggests another friend to me, that's fine
- I have mutual friends with other friends, they are suggested to me, I understand that
- but what worries me is the suggestion of friends with whom I have no mutual friends. This has happened to me 3 times: the first time it was an old work colleague (no mutual friends, and I haven't mentioned that former workplace on my page), the second time a college friend so there might be some overlaps (although that college isn't mentioned either) and finally the last one, and from my point of view the most unsettling, is a girl with whom I have no mutual friends, we didn't attend college in the same year, we didn't work at the same place, I met her at student parties... It gives me the chills, especially since I am very careful about the information I leave on my Facebook page, and these are not people I have searched for either... I imagine files must be cross-referenced but I'm seriously thinking about unsubscribing... Do you know if the Facebook headquarters has an address we can write to for accountability?
- a friend suggests another friend to me, that's fine
- I have mutual friends with other friends, they are suggested to me, I understand that
- but what worries me is the suggestion of friends with whom I have no mutual friends. This has happened to me 3 times: the first time it was an old work colleague (no mutual friends, and I haven't mentioned that former workplace on my page), the second time a college friend so there might be some overlaps (although that college isn't mentioned either) and finally the last one, and from my point of view the most unsettling, is a girl with whom I have no mutual friends, we didn't attend college in the same year, we didn't work at the same place, I met her at student parties... It gives me the chills, especially since I am very careful about the information I leave on my Facebook page, and these are not people I have searched for either... I imagine files must be cross-referenced but I'm seriously thinking about unsubscribing... Do you know if the Facebook headquarters has an address we can write to for accountability?
Facebook also suggests people to you who use Facebook with their MSN (Hotmail) address that you have on MSN.
For example: I have as a friend on MSN her@hotmail.fr, she uses Facebook with this email address but I don't have her as a friend.
Well, Facebook will suggest her to you.
--
-> Google is your friend, think about it before posting!
-> Stop texting language! Thank you for writing in French.
-> Thank you for closing your threads once resolved!
For example: I have as a friend on MSN her@hotmail.fr, she uses Facebook with this email address but I don't have her as a friend.
Well, Facebook will suggest her to you.
--
-> Google is your friend, think about it before posting!
-> Stop texting language! Thank you for writing in French.
-> Thank you for closing your threads once resolved!
They make connections with our IP address, they track us wherever we go on the internet
If we send an email to a person without going through Facebook, they trace that person's IP address and when she logs into Facebook, even under a false name, they make the connection
They also link us to our neighbors
When I moved and therefore changed my IP address, all the neighbors from my new residence appeared as friend suggestions
If we send an email to a person without going through Facebook, they trace that person's IP address and when she logs into Facebook, even under a false name, they make the connection
They also link us to our neighbors
When I moved and therefore changed my IP address, all the neighbors from my new residence appeared as friend suggestions
Oh, I'm not the only one that finds this creepy!
I just signed up for Facebook, and I see a bunch of people I know in the "friend suggestions."
I have the MSN addresses of some, but not others, just acquaintances.
Knowing that I haven't signed up for any network, I find this really strange.
How does Facebook know that I might know these people?
This thing is really freaky...
I just signed up for Facebook, and I see a bunch of people I know in the "friend suggestions."
I have the MSN addresses of some, but not others, just acquaintances.
Knowing that I haven't signed up for any network, I find this really strange.
How does Facebook know that I might know these people?
This thing is really freaky...
I heard that Facebook has access to your contacts and other data on your devices because you authorized it, perhaps even without realizing it. So, if you have received or sent emails on your device, Facebook may link you to one of its members and suggest them as a friend. This is why I receive friend suggestions for people I've had professional exchanges with. I believe the same goes for your browsing history. If you visit a company's website, Facebook may suggest people who work or have worked for that company.
Hello everyone,
Facebook is like most websites, a for-profit company. Know that all your browsing is known by every site you visit. Notice how the ads are oddly well-targeted. Try this out. Do a targeted job listing search for a specific profession. Then log in to FB. You will notice an ad for a temp agency specialized in that profession. The same goes for mail-order shopping sites, etc. A show a few days ago on a major national channel revealed that a website creator (porn in this case) could see the previous browsing history of people connected to his site and thus realized that people only went to 3 or 4 sites per connection, and all of those sites were on the first 3 pages of Google. This allows him to understand user behavior and improve his revenue. Well, FB is the same. The more friends you have, the more connected FB will be, the more it will sell its ads for higher prices.
Facebook is like most websites, a for-profit company. Know that all your browsing is known by every site you visit. Notice how the ads are oddly well-targeted. Try this out. Do a targeted job listing search for a specific profession. Then log in to FB. You will notice an ad for a temp agency specialized in that profession. The same goes for mail-order shopping sites, etc. A show a few days ago on a major national channel revealed that a website creator (porn in this case) could see the previous browsing history of people connected to his site and thus realized that people only went to 3 or 4 sites per connection, and all of those sites were on the first 3 pages of Google. This allows him to understand user behavior and improve his revenue. Well, FB is the same. The more friends you have, the more connected FB will be, the more it will sell its ads for higher prices.
Good evening,
I had the same problem as many of you, a person I know but who has no contact with me appeared in my friend suggestions.
What surprises me the most is that I myself had searched for this person without results, assuming they were not registered. Following this suggestion, I searched again but it yields no results because their Facebook profile is indeed active since it appears in my suggestions. How can this be explained??? Did they themselves search for me??? Can their profile be hidden in the friend search???
Thank you.
I had the same problem as many of you, a person I know but who has no contact with me appeared in my friend suggestions.
What surprises me the most is that I myself had searched for this person without results, assuming they were not registered. Following this suggestion, I searched again but it yields no results because their Facebook profile is indeed active since it appears in my suggestions. How can this be explained??? Did they themselves search for me??? Can their profile be hidden in the friend search???
Thank you.
I believe that the suggested friends, without having any mutual friends, may perhaps come from your hometown and your birthdate, or simply from the fact that you attended the same high school, for example…
Hello,
I have the same issue, an ex from whom I only have the address in my hotmail inbox.
However:
- I am on Facebook under a false name.
- The address I provided is false, an address I use for spam.
And indeed, I scanned my hotmail account to find friends on Facebook but well before knowing her.
Does this mean that Facebook keeps the password used just once and performs regular scans on email addresses to suggest new potential contacts?
In that case, I am really worried. In any case, I am convinced that Facebook retains all the scanned contacts from an email address.
Best regards,
I have the same issue, an ex from whom I only have the address in my hotmail inbox.
However:
- I am on Facebook under a false name.
- The address I provided is false, an address I use for spam.
And indeed, I scanned my hotmail account to find friends on Facebook but well before knowing her.
Does this mean that Facebook keeps the password used just once and performs regular scans on email addresses to suggest new potential contacts?
In that case, I am really worried. In any case, I am convinced that Facebook retains all the scanned contacts from an email address.
Best regards,
I just signed up for Facebook with an email address I just created and with no contacts in my address book, and in friend suggestions, I see friends from school pop up, which goes back 8-12 years. This can be explained if they tried to contact me earlier as mentioned above, but on the other hand, I see other people who are connected to me very distantly. For example, in middle school, I had issues with certain individuals, which were quite serious since I suffered from physical abuse for a long time, and today I have friend suggestions for the sister of one of the people I had to report... honestly, that's pushing it far. I've never had such a person on any contact list, and I didn't even know of their existence until today. I don't think this testimony will shed light on anything, but in any case, I also have questions.
I'm wondering about it too, but apparently there’s no clear and precise answer...
On the other hand, it makes me laugh, I have someone in friend requests... and I don't want to see them or talk to them... and all the fuss...!!! Come on!!! It’s just a friend request!!!!
And then the "oh I have my ex in my contacts..." you shared a part of your life with them, it's not scandalous to see that Facebook suggests them... :/
It's still a friend request!!!! nothing stops you from:
1) not checking it out :/
2) not accepting in batches of 50 the friends suggested to you
It's like when you live in a small town and you hope you'll never see them again :/. You always end up running into them whether it’s at a club, when you’re grocery shopping,...
Stop the scandal "I don't want them to be my friend on Facebook, I should file a complaint for invasion of privacy"
When you approach a girl at a club it’s the same, you ask her age and bam, you really think she’s going to file a complaint for invasion of privacy :/
The one who makes me laugh the most is the kind of little lawyer who must have followed the same path as a certain Jean Sarkozy.... Not to mention the years of delay... At the same time, keep at it, you might end up at Bercy ;)
There you go...
On the other hand, it makes me laugh, I have someone in friend requests... and I don't want to see them or talk to them... and all the fuss...!!! Come on!!! It’s just a friend request!!!!
And then the "oh I have my ex in my contacts..." you shared a part of your life with them, it's not scandalous to see that Facebook suggests them... :/
It's still a friend request!!!! nothing stops you from:
1) not checking it out :/
2) not accepting in batches of 50 the friends suggested to you
It's like when you live in a small town and you hope you'll never see them again :/. You always end up running into them whether it’s at a club, when you’re grocery shopping,...
Stop the scandal "I don't want them to be my friend on Facebook, I should file a complaint for invasion of privacy"
When you approach a girl at a club it’s the same, you ask her age and bam, you really think she’s going to file a complaint for invasion of privacy :/
The one who makes me laugh the most is the kind of little lawyer who must have followed the same path as a certain Jean Sarkozy.... Not to mention the years of delay... At the same time, keep at it, you might end up at Bercy ;)
There you go...
Yes, indeed, this testimony is extremely interesting for understanding the stakes of personal data protection.
Your personal story shows that one can very well want to access social networks while legitimately demanding not to be disturbed (and we understand the impact this can have on you) by such suggestions.
This testimony deserves to be shared instead!
Best regards.
Your personal story shows that one can very well want to access social networks while legitimately demanding not to be disturbed (and we understand the impact this can have on you) by such suggestions.
This testimony deserves to be shared instead!
Best regards.
I propose that we try to conduct an investigation to determine how Facebook finds these suggestions.
On my side, I also have some totally unknown people in my suggestions; I simply send them a message to ask if we have a connection. So far, no response.
In my opinion, Facebook is affiliated with other networks, such as email providers, from which it draws contacts; is this legal?
On my side, I also have some totally unknown people in my suggestions; I simply send them a message to ask if we have a connection. So far, no response.
In my opinion, Facebook is affiliated with other networks, such as email providers, from which it draws contacts; is this legal?
I know I'm arriving a bit late, but having received some disturbing suggestions on Facebook as well, I did a little internet search and I came across this forum, hence my late reply
I think I will simply do the test. I will regularly type a very common first name and last name (for which the existence of a Facebook page is almost certain) several days in a row and we'll see. Then I plan to enter a friend's email address who has a Facebook page, and we'll see what happens. I will keep you updated on my results, if there are any...
I think I will simply do the test. I will regularly type a very common first name and last name (for which the existence of a Facebook page is almost certain) several days in a row and we'll see. Then I plan to enter a friend's email address who has a Facebook page, and we'll see what happens. I will keep you updated on my results, if there are any...
It seems to me that most of the incomprehensible cases mentioned here can be explained simply: these are people you were in contact with via email, who thus had you in their address book. When they signed up for Facebook, they imported their address book, and that's how Facebook knows you.
So they can suggest any person who has had your email address.
So they can suggest any person who has had your email address.
Albert, your hypothesis would hold water if the address (in the address book of "people" / "users") is still valid or operational. The question is, when it is no longer (when the address no longer exists or is no longer valid, which you no longer use, that you have deleted, etc.), how is it possible that the people (who knew you under that non-existent address and to whom you have not given your new address, neither to them nor to their supposed friends and mutual friends) are suggested to you (and vice versa!)?
That’s the hitch! In itself, it’s impossible unless Facebook has set up a bot (akin to a super cookie or a super powerful Trojan horse), which, based on the address with which you registered with them, would scour your computer in search of other addresses or other accounts (disappeared or not) that you have at some point "emailed." And if that’s the case, it’s a big, very big problem regarding the right to privacy (you might say, with Facebook, you already have little privacy, but the reality would be even worse than the assumed one!)
That’s the hitch! In itself, it’s impossible unless Facebook has set up a bot (akin to a super cookie or a super powerful Trojan horse), which, based on the address with which you registered with them, would scour your computer in search of other addresses or other accounts (disappeared or not) that you have at some point "emailed." And if that’s the case, it’s a big, very big problem regarding the right to privacy (you might say, with Facebook, you already have little privacy, but the reality would be even worse than the assumed one!)
Hello,
There are two cases
1) Automatic suggestion
2) Suggestion from one of your friends.
The suggestions by the robot can be found in Suggestions and those from a friend appear as a notification.
For example: A friend has suggested Machin Bidule
There you go
Ipnotik
There are two cases
1) Automatic suggestion
2) Suggestion from one of your friends.
The suggestions by the robot can be found in Suggestions and those from a friend appear as a notification.
For example: A friend has suggested Machin Bidule
There you go
Ipnotik
Hello,
after some tests, I see a multi-step answer regarding who suggests friends or at least how they are generated by FB.
The suggestions that appear in the box at the top right or in the "Friends" menu are:
- either individuals who know you and have your email address with which you registered on FB,
- or individuals with whom you have one or more connections (work, residence, academic background, favorites, pages, interests),
- or individuals who, by searching for friends based on one of the aforementioned connections, came across you and then clicked on your profile (FB records this click, the IP addresses, stores everything, and sends you a suggestion),
- friends of people who have included you in their lists (because this mutual friend knew your email address and brought their address book with them when registering on FB),
- the blatant use of cookies that register you, store your information, and recalculate it to produce a suggestion,
- a person (friend, friend of a friend, someone with whom you have one or more common links) who connects while you are online
- a mixed set of the various proposals mentioned above.
Any recurrence of the same person in the "suggestion" or "you may know..." section (that is to say, a person who has found themselves in this section at some point and you have removed using the cross but still see) is a person who has in their address book the email address with which you registered on FB and connects at the same time as you.
In this case only, there is nothing you can do other than block them and/or hope that they remove or block you (your email address, I mean) from their list or address book.
There you go, I hope I was clear and helped you...
after some tests, I see a multi-step answer regarding who suggests friends or at least how they are generated by FB.
The suggestions that appear in the box at the top right or in the "Friends" menu are:
- either individuals who know you and have your email address with which you registered on FB,
- or individuals with whom you have one or more connections (work, residence, academic background, favorites, pages, interests),
- or individuals who, by searching for friends based on one of the aforementioned connections, came across you and then clicked on your profile (FB records this click, the IP addresses, stores everything, and sends you a suggestion),
- friends of people who have included you in their lists (because this mutual friend knew your email address and brought their address book with them when registering on FB),
- the blatant use of cookies that register you, store your information, and recalculate it to produce a suggestion,
- a person (friend, friend of a friend, someone with whom you have one or more common links) who connects while you are online
- a mixed set of the various proposals mentioned above.
Any recurrence of the same person in the "suggestion" or "you may know..." section (that is to say, a person who has found themselves in this section at some point and you have removed using the cross but still see) is a person who has in their address book the email address with which you registered on FB and connects at the same time as you.
In this case only, there is nothing you can do other than block them and/or hope that they remove or block you (your email address, I mean) from their list or address book.
There you go, I hope I was clear and helped you...
Hello,
I have the same question because Facebook suggested people to me that I crossed paths with several years ago, even though I have no friends in common with these people and I have lost contact with them.
How did Facebook know that I might know these people? I would really like someone to shed some light on this subject because it’s a bit scary...
I hope I was clear enough.
Thank you!
I have the same question because Facebook suggested people to me that I crossed paths with several years ago, even though I have no friends in common with these people and I have lost contact with them.
How did Facebook know that I might know these people? I would really like someone to shed some light on this subject because it’s a bit scary...
I hope I was clear enough.
Thank you!
I have the same thing as you, Diplo, and I also find it strange! No mutual friends and yet...
The friend suggestions are not related to that because they appear directly in Invitations. I think it's a robot that manages this, but it's surprising to see that we know people without any connection.
I would also like some information on this. Maybe it's by typing the person's name you want to see in search that it suggests this to us?
The friend suggestions are not related to that because they appear directly in Invitations. I think it's a robot that manages this, but it's surprising to see that we know people without any connection.
I would also like some information on this. Maybe it's by typing the person's name you want to see in search that it suggests this to us?
Good evening,
Is there a way to disable suggestions? Options, settings ...???
What is the procedure to follow?
Thank you.
Is there a way to disable suggestions? Options, settings ...???
What is the procedure to follow?
Thank you.
After using the contact importer, you have the option to request their removal from Facebook's databases...
"Facebook uses the email addresses you upload through the friend search tool to help you find friends and uses this information to suggest recommendations for you and your contacts on Facebook. You can ensure that these contacts are removed by clicking the Delete button. It may take some time for your name to be completely removed from the suggestions."
"Facebook uses the email addresses you upload through the friend search tool to help you find friends and uses this information to suggest recommendations for you and your contacts on Facebook. You can ensure that these contacts are removed by clicking the Delete button. It may take some time for your name to be completely removed from the suggestions."
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
Suivant
But recently my wife received an email invitation from a friend to sign up for Facebook (she isn't), and this email included 6 friend suggestions, all very close to us!
However, the person who sent the invitation has only 1 out of 6 of them among her friends on Facebook and doesn’t know the others in real life. This mutual friend (the 1 out of 6) doesn’t know the other 5 either.
The friend who sent the invitation is one of my friends on Facebook, but there is no link between my wife's email and my Facebook account.
I haven’t provided Facebook with the password for my Hotmail account, and in any case, some of the 6 people are not in my Hotmail contacts.
One detail, the day before, I had searched on the white pages for the address of one of the 6 people. We do not have an email address for that person anywhere.
It's concerning!
Shocked, I wanted to contact Hotmail to find out how Facebook could have access to this information. After wandering for hours in a maze of links, I finally learned that Microsoft does not offer support for Hotmail (I couldn't even find a postal address).
I will now contact the CNIL to find out if it's legal for this information leak to occur without my knowledge (I never asked Hotmail to share my data with FB).