Facebook’s people search feature allows you to look up other Facebook users and see limited profile information, even if you are not friends with them. However, Facebook does not provide an easy way to filter or customize people search results.
What is Facebook people search?
Facebook’s people search feature lets you search for other Facebook users by name. When you search for someone, if they have a public profile you will be able to see limited information such as their profile photo, workplace, school, hometown, and any other public information they have added to their profile. You won’t be able to see private information like their posts, photos, friends list, etc. unless you are friends with them.
People search can be useful for finding old friends, classmates, co-workers, and others you may know on Facebook. It helps connect you with people you’ve lost touch with or didn’t know were on Facebook.
How to use Facebook people search
Using Facebook’s people search feature is easy:
- Go to the Facebook search bar at the top of the page or in the left menu on mobile.
- Type in the name of the person you want to find.
- Click on “People” underneath the search bar.
- Browse through the results to find the person you’re searching for.
You can search by full name or just a first or last name. The more info you provide, the more accurate your results will be.
Can you filter Facebook people search results?
Unfortunately, Facebook does not currently provide any built-in filters for customizing people search results. There is no easy way to narrow down people search results by location, workplace, school, interests, or any other criteria.
The only option Facebook provides is searching by name. There is no advanced search form or filters to refine your query and show only people who match certain parameters.
This makes it difficult to pinpoint a specific person if there are multiple Facebook users who share the same name. The lack of filters also means you may end up with search results irrelevant to the person you hope to find.
Workarounds for filtering Facebook people search
While Facebook does not have native filters for people search, there are some workarounds you can use to narrow down results:
- Search by name plus location – Adding a city, state, or country after someone’s name can help weed out other users with the same name.
- Use unique or full names – Searching for a middle name, maiden name, or less common name can minimize irrelevant results.
- Search within friend networks – If you have a mutual friend, search for the person only among friends of that mutual connection.
- Use Google search operators – Use Google’s search techniques like quotations around multi-word names, OR between names, minus sign to eliminate results, etc.
- Use Facebook Graph Search – This tool used to allow for filtered searches but is now defunct.
- Try searching on other networks – Look for the person on LinkedIn, Twitter, or other networks where you may be able to filter by location, school, job, etc.
These methods can help refine your search query and make it easier to find the exact person you’re looking for on Facebook. But there is still no built-in or easy way to filter Facebook people search results directly on Facebook.
Why Facebook doesn’t allow filters for people search
Facebook likely limits filters on people search intentionally as part of its data and privacy policies. Here are some potential reasons why Facebook doesn’t provide advanced filters for people search:
- Privacy – Allowing filters could expose private profile information against someone’s wishes or preferences.
- Safety – Unfiltered access to people’s locations, workplaces, etc. could create safety risks and facilitate stalking.
- Data protection – Facebook wants to limit the ability to scrape or misuse user data in bulk.
- Simplified interface – Keeping the search bar straightforward aligns with Facebook’s streamlined interface.
- Encourage connections – Facebook wants to motivate users to send friend requests rather than just view profiles.
Essentially, adding more filters would make Facebook people search more akin to a public directory than a network for making connections. The lack of filters encourages users to connect directly if they want more access to someone’s profile and information.
Should Facebook add filters for people search?
There are reasonable arguments on both sides of whether Facebook should implement advanced filters for people search:
Pros of adding filters
- Makes finding people easier, especially those with common names
- All major social networks offer filtered search capabilities
- Gives users more control over their visibility to others
- Filters could be opted in or out for better privacy control
- Creates a better search experience overall
Cons of adding filters
- Increases potential for abuse or harassment
- Exposes more user data broadly
- Goes against Facebook’s minimal, intuitive interface
- Makes it harder for Facebook to control data scraping
- Reduces incentive for users to connect and interact
Alternatives to filters
Rather than adding traditional filters, Facebook could:
- Improve name match accuracy in search algorithms
- Require a minimum number of mutual friends to view non-friends’ profiles
- Let users set more detailed privacy preferences for searchability
- Only surface non-friends in searches initiated by mutual connections
These measures could balance enhanced search capabilities with privacy and data protection.
Conclusion
In summary, Facebook currently does not offer any way to filter or customize people search results – you can only search by name. The lack of filters is likely an intentional choice by Facebook to balance privacy, safety, data protection, and user experience.
While adding filters could improve searchability, it also carries risks. Facebook seems unlikely to implement advanced filters anytime soon given its emphasis on privacy and connections between mutual friends. For now, the best ways to filter Facebook people search are using workarounds like location and unique names or searching on other platforms. But an integrated, filtered search remains elusive on Facebook itself.