Facebook uses a variety of factors to determine which people to suggest as friends on your Facebook account. Some of the main ways Facebook generates friend recommendations include:
Mutual Friends
One of the most common ways Facebook suggests friends is by looking at mutual friends. If you and another person have several friends in common, Facebook will likely suggest you connect. The more mutual friends you share, the higher up that person will appear in your friend recommendations.
Facebook’s algorithm looks at all your existing Facebook friends and matches them to other people on Facebook who have those same friends. For example, if you are friends with John, Sarah, and Matt, and another user is also friends with John, Sarah, and Matt, Facebook will likely suggest you become friends because of the 3 mutual connections.
Networks
In addition to mutual friends, Facebook also looks at other network connections and activities. Some examples include:
- Schools you attended
- Workplaces
- Cities lived in
- Pages liked
- Groups joined
- Events attended
If you and another Facebook user went to the same college, currently work for the same company, live in the same city, like similar pages, share group memberships, or have RSVPed to the same events, you are more likely to show up as a suggested friend for each other.
Contact Importing
Another way Facebook recommends friends is by allowing you to import contacts from your email, phone, or other platforms. When you grant Facebook access to your contacts, it will match the contact info to existing Facebook accounts and suggest those users to you. This allows you to easily find and connect with people you already know on Facebook.
Search History
Facebook may also generate friend recommendations based on people you have recently searched for or viewed on Facebook. For example, if you searched your classmate from high school or looked at your coworker’s profile, Facebook may add them to your suggestions list shortly after since it knows you are interested in them.
Friends of Suggested Friends
Once Facebook recommends some friends for you, it will also recommend friends of those suggested friends. So if you became friends with one person Facebook suggested, you will likely then see some of that person’s friends also pop up in your recommendations.
Advertisers and Partners
Facebook may also generate friend recommendations based on targeting specified by advertisers or partner apps and websites. For example, if you visit an external website or use an app that requests your Facebook info to provide friend suggestions, those people may show up in your recommendations.
How Accurate Are Facebook’s Friend Recommendations?
In general, Facebook’s friend recommendations can be quite accurate, especially when suggesting mutual friends and connections based on networks and activities. However, some people find that many of Facebook’s suggestions are people they do not know. Here are some factors that impact the accuracy of Facebook’s friend recommendations:
- Number of existing friends – The more Facebook friends you have, the more data Facebook’s algorithm has to generate suggestions.
- Privacy settings – If you limit the visibility of your friends list and other info, Facebook has less data to use.
- Inactive account – If you are not frequently active on Facebook, it has less current info about you.
- New account – With a brand new account, Facebook does not have enough history to provide accurate suggestions.
- Living in different cities than most friends – If you moved around a lot, Facebook may suggest more distant connections.
- Generic names – Facebook may mix you up with other people with the same name.
Overall, Facebook friend suggestions tend to become more relevant over time as the algorithm learns more about you from your profile info, activity, friends, and network connections. But you may need to sift through some less relevant recommendations, especially at first. Keep in mind you can always delete a friend suggestion if you do not actually know the person.
Who Can See My Facebook Friend Suggestions?
Only you can see your full list of friend recommendations on Facebook. Other users will not see the list of people Facebook suggests you connect with. This means you do not have to worry about others being notified if they are suggested to you but you opt not to send a friend request.
Can I Turn Off Facebook Friend Suggestions?
If you prefer not to receive friend recommendations from Facebook, you can disable this feature:
- Go to your Facebook Settings
- Select “Account Settings”
- Click “Account Ownership and Control”
- Under “How people can find and contact you,” deselect “Do you want us to suggest friends for you?”
This will prevent Facebook from generating new friend recommendations for your account. However, it will not remove recommendations that it previously generated before you disabled the setting.
Why Does Facebook Suggest Certain Friends?
There are a few main reasons Facebook may repeatedly suggest certain people as friends:
- You keep interacting with them – Viewing someone’s profile repeatedly or searching for them makes Facebook think you want to connect.
- Many mutual friends – The more friends you have in common, the more Facebook pushes that suggestion.
- They also interact with you – If they view your profile or search for you too, Facebook picks up on the interest.
- You share multiple networks – School, work, city, interests can lead to repeated suggestions.
- You imported contacts – Syncing contacts results in persistent recommendations until you connect.
If someone specific keeps getting suggested but you do not want to connect, you can remove the recommendation. But if they fit into one of the categories above, they may show up again in the future. Having many mutual friends or shared networks makes Facebook determined to connect you.
Should I Only Accept Suggested Friends I Know?
Most people recommend only accepting Facebook friend requests from people you know personally and trust in real life. While Facebook’s suggestions can be scarily accurate sometimes, the platform can also recommend strangers it thinks you may know based on limited public profile information and loose connections.
To avoid opening yourself up to unwanted contact or interactions, it is best to only connect with recommended friends if you can confirm they are actually acquaintances, family members, coworkers, classmates, or other contacts you want to stay in touch with on Facebook. Don’t accept friend requests from complete strangers.
Can I See Who Views My Facebook Profile?
Facebook does not directly show you who views your profile. However, there are some signs a specific person may have visited your profile:
- They show up as a friend recommendation shortly after viewing your profile.
- They like or comment on one of your posts around the time they viewed your profile.
- Mutual friends mention that person checking you out or asking about you.
Facebook friend recommendations, likes, and comments can give you clues about who recently looked at your profile. But you will not see a direct list of who views your Facebook page.
Should I Accept Friend Requests From Strangers?
It is generally not recommended to accept Facebook friend requests from people you do not know. Here are some risks of accepting friends from strangers:
- They can view your posts, photos, family and friends, and other personal information.
- They may spam your News Feed with unwanted posts.
- They could harass you or stalk you on Facebook.
- It gives them access to interact with your networks and contacts.
- They can send you scam links or viruses.
- It allows strangers to contact you directly.
To avoid these risks, it is safest to only accept friend requests from people you know and trust. Make sure to also review your privacy settings to limit what your existing friends as well as the public can see on your profile. Decline requests from obvious strangers or anyone who seems suspicious.
Can I Tell Who Looks at My Facebook Profile Most?
Facebook does not provide information on who specifically is viewing your profile the most. However, there are some clues that can reveal who may be checking out your page frequently:
- They show up at the top of your People You May Know suggestions.
- You notice them viewing or liking your posts right away.
- Mutual friends mention them looking you up a lot.
- They seem to know random details about you they likely saw on your profile.
While you can’t definitively see who views your profile the most, paying attention to friend recommendations, likes, comments, and conversations can provide hints on who keeps up with your profile and posts.
Should I Add Coworkers on Facebook?
There are pros and cons to becoming Facebook friends with coworkers:
Pros:
- Strengthens work relationships and connections.
- Creates more open communication channels.
- Can get to know coworkers better personally.
- Collaborate and share work-related content.
- Feel more involved with company culture and teams.
Cons:
- Blurring of professional and personal boundaries.
- Oversharing personal life details publicly or with coworkers.
- Arguments or tense situations over controversial posts.
- Career impacts if work friends see unprofessional content.
- Pressure to socialize with colleagues after hours.
Ultimately, it comes down to your comfort level. Consider starting by only adding coworkers you trust. Maintain professionalism in interactions. And limit visibility of some posts to avoid oversharing work and personal content.
How Can I See My Stalkers on Facebook?
Unfortunately, there is no direct way to definitively identify “stalkers” who may be creeping on your Facebook profile constantly. However, here are some signs to watch out for:
- Someone frequently viewing your posts and profile right away.
- A person constantly liking and commenting on all your posts.
- You noticing them appear in the audience for live videos.
- Friends mentioning someone asking about or discussing you.
- Continued friend recommendations of someone you don’t want to connect with.
While none of these are sure signs of stalking, patterns of excessive interest may reveal someone keeping unusually close tabs on you. Make sure your profile is private, block concerning individuals, and contact Facebook if you feel unsafe.
Conclusion
Facebook has many methods for determining which friends to recommend to users. Focusing on mutual friends, shared networks, contacts, recent searches, and connected activity allows Facebook to make relevant suggestions in many cases. However, you may still receive recommendations of people you do not know based on limited profile details.
While friend recommendations can be helpful for finding acquaintances, it is best to only connect with people you know personally. Avoid accepting requests from obvious strangers to protect your privacy and security on Facebook.
With Facebook’s friend suggestion feature, you are in full control. Review recommendations carefully, connect only with people you want to, and edit your privacy settings to control what those friends can see. Being selective about friends while taking advantage of Facebook’s suggestions can help optimize your experience.