Searching for Facebook users by phone number can be useful for finding old friends or connecting with people you’ve met in real life. However, Facebook does not have a built-in feature that allows searching users directly by their phone number. There are some workarounds that may help you find people by phone number, but success is not guaranteed.
Why You Can’t Search by Phone Number on Facebook
Facebook does not allow searching for users by phone number for privacy and security reasons. Phone numbers are considered private personal information, so Facebook limits access to them. Here are some key reasons why searching by phone number is restricted:
- Privacy – Phone numbers contain private information and could allow strangers to contact or harass users if searchable.
- Security – Searching by phone number could enable hacking, fraud, and identity theft.
- Spam/abuse – Wide access to phone numbers could lead to an increase in spam calls, texts, etc.
- Company policy – Facebook’s data policy does not allow user phone numbers to be searchable to protect privacy.
Overall, enabling phone number searchability would violate Facebook’s privacy policies and could undermine users’ security and experience on the platform. For these reasons, you’ll have to use workarounds if you need to find someone by their number.
Workarounds to Search Facebook by Phone Number
While you can’t directly search for Facebook users by entering a phone number, there are some workarounds that may help you find someone by their mobile number or landline. Here are a few options:
1. Use Facebook’s Phone or Text Friend Finder
Facebook offers a “Find Friends” tool that allows you to provide your own phone number or upload your contacts. It will match your contacts to existing Facebook users who have provided the same phone numbers on their profiles. Here’s how it works:
- Go to Facebook and click on the “Find Friends” link.
- Select “Find your friends on Facebook” using your phone or contacts.
- Enter your own mobile number or upload your contacts/address book.
- Facebook will match the numbers to Facebook users who have added the same numbers to their profiles.
- You’ll see matched results for any mutual friends or contacts found on Facebook.
This can be a great way to find Facebook friends by phone number, but it’s limited by how many contacts have added their mobile/landline to their Facebook profiles. There’s no guarantee of matches.
2. Search Public Facebook Pages and Groups
Some Facebook users publicly display their phone numbers on their Facebook pages or in groups. You can try searching for pages and joinable groups that are specifically for listing phone numbers:
- Search for terms like “list your phone number” or “what’s your number?”
- Join public groups created for sharing contact info.
- Browse the “About” or “Community” sections on public pages for posted numbers.
This can help you find phone numbers that users have voluntarily made public. However, there’s no way to guarantee finding a specific person’s number this way.
3. Use Facebook Search Operators
Facebook’s graph search tool supports some advanced search operators that can help dig through posts and profiles. You may be able to find mentions of phone numbers using commands like:
- “My phone number is [number]”
- “Call me at [number]”
- “[First Name] [Last Name] [number]”
This method requires you already know part of the person’s name and number. It searches through public posts and bios that mention the number. But it’s still hit-or-miss for finding a specific person’s profile by phone number alone.
4. Use a Contact Discovery Service
There are third-party contact discovery services and apps that can help match phone numbers to social media profiles. Examples include services like:
- TruePeopleSearch
- FastPeopleSearch
- TruthFinder
- Spokeo
These aggregator sites crawl public data sources like phone books, social media, and public records to link names, locations, phone numbers, email addresses, and social media profiles. They usually offer some free searches, but full access requires a paid subscription.
This method can potentially identify the Facebook profile linked to a given phone number, but depends on the data the services have aggregated from public sources.
Other Facebook Search Tips
In addition to the workarounds above, here are some other Facebook search techniques to help find people when you only have limited identifying information:
Use Name Search with Location
Searching for a name and location together can help narrow down results, like “John Smith New York” or “Mary Johnson Miami.” This works best for less common names.
Search Within Groups
Join relevant local groups like for schools, neighborhoods, or workplaces. Then search within the group for specific names.
Broaden Name Searches
Try partial names or nickname searches like “Alex” instead of “Alexander” or “Katie” instead of “Katherine.” This casts a wider net when you don’t have an exact name.
Follow Facebook Profile Links
Check the profiles of mutual connections and follow any profile links they may have to the person you’re searching for.
Is There Any Way to Guarantee Finding Someone by Phone Number?
Unfortunately there is no foolproof way to find a Facebook profile using only a phone number. The options above may help you track down some leads, but have limitations:
- The person may not have provided any phone number on their Facebook profile.
- They may have only visible contacts info to friends, not public.
- Common names yield too many search results to identify one profile.
- Aggregator search tools rely on public data that may be incomplete.
For the best chance of success, you’ll need additional information beyond just a phone number – such as full name, college or employer, mutual connections, location, etc. Even with workarounds, searching Facebook by phone number alone gives inconsistent results.
Why You May Want to Avoid Searching by Phone Number
In addition to the uncertain chances of success, keep in mind some ethical precautions about searching for people by phone number:
- Don’t search without consent – Tracking down someone’s social media without permission can be seen as invasive.
- Respect privacy settings – If someone hasn’t made info public, respect their boundaries.
- Consider security – Searching by phone number alone risks mistaken identity or hacking if you get the wrong profile.
- Limit contact – Finding someone’s profile does not give you license to call, text, or otherwise contact without consent.
Always think carefully about your reasons for needing to find someone on Facebook before searching by phone number. Make sure your intentions align with respect, privacy, and consent.
Conclusion
Facebook purposefully makes it impossible to directly search for users by phone number to protect privacy. However, some clever workarounds like friend finders, public post searches, operators, and contact discovery services may help surface leads. But there is no surefire way to guarantee finding someone’s Facebook profile starting with only a phone number. Your chances improve with additional info like full name, location, school, employers, and mutual connections. Remember to always respect people’s boundaries and consent when searching for private info online.