When you use the search bar on Facebook, you may notice that as you start typing, a drop down appears showing recent searches you have made. The order that these recent searches appear in is not random, but is determined by several factors.
Recency of Search
One of the main factors that determines the order of recent searches is how recently you made that search. Searches you have made more recently will appear higher in the drop down list than searches you haven’t made in a while.
Facebook’s algorithm remembers your recent searches and prioritizes showing you those you have made most recently first. This is likely because if you have searched for something recently, you are more likely to want to search for it again or related terms.
Frequency of Search
In addition to recency, the frequency that you search for something also impacts the order it shows up in the recent searches. If you search for the same term over and over, Facebook will learn that it is a common search for you and bump it up higher in the recent searches list.
For example, if you search for “John Smith” every day, while you only search for “Jane Doe” sporadically, “John Smith” will appear above “Jane Doe” in the dropdown even if you searched for Jane more recently.
Personalization
Facebook personalizes and tailors the recent searches dropdown based on you as an individual user. People who use Facebook on the same device or account will see different recent searches depending on their own search history and behavior.
Facebook does this by tracking data about you including pages you’ve visited, posts you’ve liked, groups you’ve joined, and searches you’ve made. Their algorithm analyzes all this to determine which searches are most relevant to you.
Trending Searches
In addition to your personal recent searches, Facebook may also include trending searches and topics in the dropdown. These are searches and keywords that are spiking in popularity across Facebook, not just with you individually.
Including trending content allows you to stay up to date on what is currently popular on Facebook. This content is usually clearly labeled as “Trending” so you can differentiate it from your own searches.
Search Term Relevance
When displaying recent searches, Facebook will prioritize terms that are most relevant to the characters you are currently typing. For example:
- If you type “Joh”, searches for “John Smith” will appear higher than searches for “Jane Doe”
- If you type “Sm”, “John Smith” will still appear above less relevant searches
As you continue to type, the search terms displayed will further narrow to match the characters entered.
Influence of Sponsored Content
Facebook allows advertisers to pay to promote search results for certain keywords. This means sponsored content may sometimes be displayed at the top of your recent searches.
However, Facebook notes that sponsored results make up a very small percentage of search results displayed. The majority of recent searches shown will still be based on your own search history.
Weighing of Different Factors
Facebook uses machine learning algorithms to determine the order of recent searches. This means that a mix of factors are considered, with some weighted more heavily than others.
While Facebook has not released the exact details of how their algorithms work, based on user testing, factors like recency and search term relevance seem to be weighed most heavily. Personalized factors trump trending searches.
Differences Between Platforms
The recent and suggested searches you see may vary slightly between Facebook’s platforms:
- Facebook website
- Facebook mobile app
- Facebook Lite mobile website
For example, the Facebook mobile app can factor in your physical location and tailor searches to that. However, the core factors remain the same across platforms.
Why Recent Searches Are Useful
Showing recent searches provides the following useful functions for Facebook users:
- Faster searching by quickly showing searches you may want to make again
- Reminding you of topics, people, or pages you were recently interested in
- Suggesting related topics and searches you may be interested in
- Keeping you up to date on currently trending content
Overall, the goal is to surface the searches most relevant to you right now to improve your search experience.
How to Manage Your Search History
If you want to control the searches Facebook uses to populate your recent search dropdown, you can manage your search history in a few ways:
- Delete individual searches – Click the X icon next to a search to remove it
- Clear your full history – Go to Settings & Privacy > Settings > Your Facebook Information > Activity Log > Clear History
- Turn off search history – Go to Settings & Privacy > Settings > Your Facebook Information > Off-Facebook Activity to disable tracking
You can also use Facebook privately in incognito mode on desktop or anonymously on mobile to avoid searches being linked to your account.
Conclusion
Facebook’s algorithm considers a variety of factors to determine what appears in the recent and suggested searches dropdown. The most important factors are recency, frequency, relevance to search terms typed, and personalization based on your own previous searches and interests. Facebook may also mix in trending content to show what is currently popular.
Keeping your recent searches useful and tailored to you provides a better search experience. But you also have control through managing your search history and privacy settings on Facebook.