Finding a Facebook account using just a phone number can be tricky. Facebook does not provide a direct way to search for profiles by phone number for privacy reasons. However, there are some methods you can try to locate someone’s Facebook account if you have their mobile number.
Searching on Facebook
The most straightforward approach is to search for the person’s name on Facebook and see if their profile comes up. If you have their full name, you can type it into the Facebook search bar and look through the results for the right person. However, this only works if they have a public profile that is not set to private.
You can also try searching for just their first and last name or permutations of their name to see if anything comes up. For common names, this method may yield too many results to be useful.
Using the Phone Number with Account Recovery
If you have the person’s phone number, you may be able to use it to access their Facebook account. On the Facebook login page, there is an option to “Forgot Password.” Clicking this brings you to the account recovery options.
Here you can enter the phone number linked to the account. Facebook will send a code via text message to that number which can then be used to regain access to the account. However, this will only work if that particular mobile number is associated with the person’s Facebook account.
Searching Publicly Visible Contact Info
Some Facebook users display their phone number publicly on their profile or have it visible to “Friends of Friends.” You can try searching Facebook for just the phone number itself. Enter the number with dashes like “123-456-7890” and see if any profiles show up containing that number.
This search technique will only work if the user has deliberately made their mobile visible to the public or a wider audience beyond just friends. But it is worth a try as some people do opt to showcase their contact info.
Using Facebook Search Tools
There are some third-party services and tools that offer advanced Facebook searching options beyond what is available on Facebook itself. These tools scrape information from public Facebook profiles and make certain data points searchable.
For example, tools like TruthFinder and PeopleSmart allow you to input a phone number and will search their database to find associated Facebook profiles. However, they can only search data that is visible publicly on profiles.
Contacting the Person Directly
Another option is to communicate directly with the person via the phone number you have for them. You can send them a text or give them a call asking them to provide their Facebook info. This is the most straightforward approach but does require them to willingly give you access to their profile.
If they are open to connecting with you on Facebook, they may provide you with a link to their profile or their Facebook name to search. But the person has to be cooperative and willing to share their private profile information in order for this method to work.
Using a Name Search on Facebook
If you have both the name and phone number for the person you are searching for, you can combine these two pieces of information to narrow down search results on Facebook.
Search for their name and look through the results for people who list the phone number visibly on their profile. Having both name and number makes it easier to confirm you have found the right account when a phone number match turns up.
Be sure to check the profile details carefully to verify you have the correct person based on location, school/work info, photos and other identifiers.
Limitations of Searching for Accounts by Phone Number
There are limitations to how much you can realistically uncover with just a phone number to start from:
- Facebook’s privacy settings prevent searches by phone number or email address directly
- You need additional info like a full name to combine with the number to narrow down searches
- The number needs to be visibly displayed on the person’s public profile
- Advanced search services rely on public info scraped from Facebook data
In many cases there simply may not be enough public information associated with a phone number alone to trace it back to a Facebook account. Unless the user has deliberately made the number viewable themselves, it is unlikely a Facebook profile can be uncovered.
When is it Not Advisable to Search by Number?
There are some situations where searching for a Facebook account using a phone number is not recommended or could be seen as inappropriate:
- If the person has not given you permission to access their profile
- For stalking or harassing someone
- As part of a background check an employer should not perform
- To spy on a partner or ex without consent
- For underaged users where parental controls apply
In general, if the search is being done without the person’s approval or knowledge, it is best avoided for ethical and privacy reasons.
Is it Possible to Create a Facebook Account with Just a Phone Number?
Facebook requires more than just a phone number to create an account. To sign up for a new Facebook account, you need to provide:
- Your full name
- Your email address or mobile number
- Birthday
- Gender
The phone number is collected but mainly used for security purposes like two-factor authentication. It is not enough on its own to register a new Facebook profile without also providing your name, email, birthday and gender.
Conclusion
Searching for a Facebook account using only a phone number is challenging and unreliable. Facebook’s privacy settings prevent looking up profiles directly by phone number or email address. To locate an account, you need additional identifying information like a full name along with a publicly visible phone number to combine for the search.
Third-party search tools are limited to scraping data that people have already made public. And someone cooperating voluntarily to provide access to their profile is the only surefire way to connect a phone number to a Facebook account.
For privacy and ethical reasons, searching by phone number alone is also not advisable without the person’s consent. Having just a phone number does not provide enough information to reliably find associated Facebook profiles in most cases.