Facebook’s mutual friends feature allows you to see which of your Facebook friends are also friends with another person. This can be useful for discovering connections you may have in common with new friends or potential dates. However, sometimes people set their friend lists to private, which hides their friends from people who are not also friends with that person.
What are mutual friends on Facebook?
Mutual friends on Facebook are friends you have in common with another person. For example, if you are friends with John and Mary, and John is also friends with Mary, then John and Mary would be mutual friends between you and John.
Facebook’s mutual friends feature lets you see when you have friends in common with another person. This can help you discover new connections and expand your social network on Facebook.
Why would someone hide their mutual friends on Facebook?
There are a few reasons why someone might hide their full friend list and mutual friends on Facebook:
- Privacy – They want to keep their full friend list private from people they don’t know well.
- Security – They are concerned about their account being hacked or impersonated.
- Control – They want to choose who can see their connections and friends list.
By keeping their friend list and mutual friends private, it gives them more control over who can access and see their social connections on Facebook.
How can I see hidden mutual friends on Facebook?
If someone has hidden their friend list, there is no direct way for you to view their mutual friends on Facebook. However, there are a few indirect techniques you may be able to use:
Look for mutual friends on recent posts
Check the recent posts and photos of the person hiding their friends list. Oftentimes mutual friends will like, comment on, or get tagged in the same posts. This can reveal possible friend connections.
Check photos and tags
Browse the photos and photo albums of the person. Look for familiar faces getting tagged in the same photos. The tags will expose mutual friend connections.
Look for indirect connections
See if you have a mutual friend who does not hide their friend list. Check their list for potential mutual friends between you and the private profile. But respect their privacy if they’ve hidden their list for a reason.
Guess common connections
Think about where you met the person or places you both frequent. Guess friends who could potentially be mutual connections based on common social circles or interests.
Ask to connect
There is no guarantee they will accept, but you can always send a friend request to someone who has hidden friends. If they accept, you will be able to view mutual friends. But don’t barrage someone with friend requests if they want privacy.
Search for hidden connections
Facebook’s graph search used to allow searching for hidden mutual friends. But after policy changes, graph search no longer shows these connections. There are third-party apps that claim to find hidden mutuals, but use caution as many violate Facebook’s data policies.
Should I hide my mutual friends on Facebook?
Here are some pros and cons to consider when deciding whether to hide your mutual friends on Facebook:
Pros of hiding mutual friends
- Increased privacy and control over who sees your connections
- Avoid embarrassing or inappropriate friend connections being visible
- Protect friends who want to remain private or anonymous
Cons of hiding mutual friends
- Harder for friends of friends to discover connections with you
- May look suspicious or like you have something to hide
- Makes the Facebook experience less social when connections are hidden
How do I hide my friend list and mutual friends on Facebook?
You can easily adjust your privacy settings to hide your Facebook friends list as well as mutual friends:
- Go to your Facebook profile and click on the Friends tab
- In the left column click “Friends” to access your friends privacy settings
- Under “Who can see your friends list?” select “Only Me”
- Under “Who can see your family and relationships?” select “Only Me”
- Under “Who can see the people, Pages and lists you follow?” select “Only Me”
- Click Save Changes
This will update your privacy settings so only you can see your friends, mutual friends, and followers. Other people will no longer see mutual connections on your profile.
Conclusion
Hidden mutual friends on Facebook can be impossible to uncover if someone wants to keep their friend list totally private. While you can try some techniques to guess at connections, the only surefire way is if they accept a friend request from you or change their privacy settings.
It’s important to respect people’s privacy and their reasons for hiding friend connections. Don’t try to hack or sneak a peek at their hidden mutuals. If discovering mutuals matters to you, consider asking them directly to connect as friends.