Facebook makes it easy to find and connect with friends by syncing your phone’s contacts. When you give Facebook permission to access your contacts, it checks to see if any of them are already using Facebook. If it finds any matches, Facebook will send you friend suggestions so you can easily connect with those contacts on Facebook.
Syncing contacts can help you find and connect with more friends who are already on Facebook. It’s a quick and easy way to expand your Facebook network.
Should I Sync My Contacts to Facebook?
There are a few things to consider before syncing your contacts:
Pros:
– Easily find friends already on Facebook – Facebook will match your contacts and suggest them as friends so you can connect.
– Expand your Facebook network – Syncing contacts lets you quickly find Facebook friends you may not have been connected with yet.
– Don’t lose touch – Syncing makes it easier to reconnect with old friends, classmates, coworkers and others you may have lost touch with.
Cons:
– Privacy concerns – Facebook will have access to your contacts’ names and phone numbers when you sync. Make sure you’re comfortable with Facebook having that info.
– Contact spam – Your contacts may get friend requests or suggestions even if they don’t want them. Be considerate of others’ privacy preferences.
– Duplicate contacts – Syncing may create duplicate contacts on Facebook if you’re already friends with some of your contacts.
Overall, syncing contacts can be very helpful for finding and connecting with more friends on Facebook if done thoughtfully. Make sure you only sync contacts you feel comfortable sharing info for. You can disable syncing at any time.
How to Sync Contacts on iPhone
Syncing your contacts to Facebook on iPhone is a quick and easy process. Here are the steps:
From the Facebook App
1. Open the Facebook app and tap the three-line menu icon in the bottom right.
2. Scroll down and select “Settings & Privacy” then tap “Settings.”
3. Tap “Account Settings.”
4. Under “Data and History,” tap “Sync Contacts.”
5. Tap the switch to enable syncing contacts.
6. Tap “Enable Sync” to confirm.
From iPhone Settings
1. Open the Settings app on your iPhone.
2. Scroll down and tap on “Facebook.”
3. Enable the “Contacts” switch under “Allow These Apps to Access Your Accounts.”
4. Tap “Enable Sync” to confirm syncing your contacts.
That’s it! Facebook will now sync your iPhone contacts in order to suggest new friends for you to connect with.
How the Contact Syncing Process Works
When you enable contact syncing, here is what happens behind the scenes:
Hashing
Facebook uses a technique called hashing to match your contacts with Facebook users without revealing the actual contact info. Hashing converts your contacts’ phone numbers into anonymous numeric codes.
Matching
Facebook compares the hashed codes from your contacts with hashed phone numbers and email addresses of Facebook members. Any matches found become friend recommendations for you on Facebook.
Suggestions
If any of your contacts are matched to Facebook friends, you will see suggestion notifications on Facebook to add those contacts as friends. Facebook displays the name and profile photo for each suggestion.
Info Protection
At no point in the syncing process does Facebook receive or store your actual contacts’ phone numbers or email addresses. The hashing technique keeps that info private while allowing matches to be made.
Managing Contact Privacy
While syncing contacts can help you find more friends, some of your contacts may not want their info shared with Facebook. Here are some tips for managing privacy:
– Let contacts know you plan to sync with Facebook and give them a chance to opt out if they want.
– Only sync contacts you feel comfortable sharing some info for. Don’t sync all contacts by default.
– Turn off syncing at any time in your Facebook settings and contacts app settings.
– Adjust sync settings in Facebook to limit which contacts are shared. You can exclude specific contacts.
– Use phone number or email address groups to selectively choose which contacts to sync with Facebook.
– Contacts can block you on Facebook to avoid getting suggestions if they want. This prevents contact info being shared.
Being thoughtful about which contacts you choose to sync and giving them a heads up will help avoid surprises or frustrations. Make sure syncing is consistent with your contacts’ privacy expectations.
Troubleshooting Facebook Contact Syncing
If you’re having trouble getting Facebook contact syncing to work properly, here are some troubleshooting tips:
Syncing Not Enabled
Double check that you have enabled contact syncing in both the Facebook app settings and the iPhone settings. The switches need to be turned on in both places for syncing to be active.
Out of Date Contacts
Facebook may fail to match contacts if you have outdated or missing info for them. Make sure your contacts are up to date with the correct names, phone numbers and email addresses added.
Duplicate Contacts
If you see duplicate Facebook friends after syncing, you likely already had those contacts in Facebook before syncing. You can merge and delete the duplicate contacts.
Missing Contacts
Not all contacts may get matched to Facebook friends. This could happen if some of your contacts don’t use Facebook or haven’t added their contact info to their profiles. Adding more info to your contacts can help increase match rates.
App Permissions
Check that Facebook has permissions enabled for your contacts in your iPhone privacy settings. If not, re-enable the Facebook contact permissions.
Re-Sync Contacts
If contacts aren’t matching as expected, try turning sync off and back on again to force Facebook to re-check your contacts. The sync process may have missed some potential matches.
Conclusion
Syncing your iPhone contacts to Facebook is a great way to expand your Facebook network and reconnect with old friends and acquaintances. The process is quick and easy – just enable contact syncing in Facebook and iPhone settings and Facebook will start suggesting matched contacts to add as friends.
Be thoughtful about which contacts you choose to sync and let people know you’ll be syncing to respect their privacy. With just a few taps you can enrich your Facebook experience by finding more friends from your contact list.