Facebook defines account quality as the authenticity and security of accounts on its platform. Higher quality accounts are real people engaging genuinely, while lower quality accounts may be inauthentic, abusive, or otherwise problematic. Maintaining high account quality is important for creating a safe community and preventing abuse like spam, scams, and misinformation campaigns.
Why does account quality matter to Facebook?
There are a few key reasons why Facebook cares about preserving account quality:
- Protecting users – Low quality accounts are more likely to perpetrate harassment, bullying, fraud, false news, hate speech, and other abuses that jeopardize people’s safety and privacy.
- Ad integrity – Most of Facebook’s revenue comes from advertising. Low quality accounts damage ad integrity by artificially inflating potential reach/engagement and impairing targeting.
- Complying with regulations – As an increasingly regulated tech platform, Facebook must address account quality issues to meet requirements around safety, data use, elections integrity, and more.
- Preserving reputation – Public scandals around fake accounts and misinformation campaigns have hurt Facebook’s reputation. Improving quality helps rebuild user and stakeholder trust.
In summary, while inauthentic and abusive accounts may benefit Facebook’s engagement metrics in the short term, they undermine the health of the broader platform in the long run. That’s why account quality is a priority for the company.
How does Facebook assess account quality?
Facebook uses a mix of proactive detection and reactive user reporting to catch and disable low quality accounts. Some key methods include:
- Manual reviews – Facebook has over 15,000 content reviewers who manually check for policy violations based on user reports.
- Automated tools – Facebook uses machine learning to detect spammy activity patterns, suspicious login attempts, inauthentic language use, and other signals a account may be fake or abusive.
- Verification – High profile accounts can go through ID verification to confirm their real identity.
- Security challenges – Suspicious logins or actions may trigger additional security steps like 2-factor authentication or ID confirmation.
- User reports – Users can report accounts that appear fake, abusive, or engaged in policy violations.
- Partner integration – Facebook works with security firms and researchers to identify risks and improve detection.
Facebook is constantly updating its technical systems and moderation workflows to catch new and evolving types of policy-violating behavior as attackers try to evade defenses.
What signals low account quality?
There are various suspicious behavioral signals that may indicate an account lacks authenticity or positive intent, including:
- Minimal personal info and friend connections
- Suspicious login locations or patterns
- Spammy posting activity (repetitive, irrelevant, promotional)
- Inauthentic language patterns
- Negative engagement rates (lots of posts with few likes/comments)
- Violating community standards in posts, messages, etc.
- Repeated account bans and recreations
- Unauthorized commercial usage
- Purchasing followers or likes
The more violations and suspicious signals an account accumulates, the more likely Facebook will flag and restrict it to maintain trust and safety on its platform.
How does Facebook penalize low quality accounts?
Facebook employs a range of penalties against accounts that violate its standards, including:
- Content removal – Taking down individual posts, photos, videos, etc. that go against policies
- Temporary restrictions – Limiting account functionality for a set period of time, like blocking ability to post or comment
- Permanent disabling – Deleting the account entirely if severe or repeated violations occur
- Page restrictions – Lowering distribution or removing monetization of Pages that repeatedly share problematic content
- Legal escalation – Reporting illegal account behavior to authorities for criminal investigation
The goal of enforcement is to protect the Facebook community and deter further abuse. Punishments escalate in severity based on the accountability policies for each type of violation.
How can you check and improve your Facebook account quality?
Here are some tips to assess and enhance the quality of your own Facebook account:
- Fill out your profile completely with accurate personal info
- Proactively report impersonators or other policy violations you see
- Be thoughtful about what you post and respect Facebook’s standards
- Build connections and engage genuinely with real friends and interests
- Secure your account with two-factor authentication
- Avoid purchasing likes, followers, or other inauthentic engagement
- Monitor your login locations and security notifications
- Use extra caution if managing Pages or public figure profiles prone to impersonation
Raising your own account quality helps improve the health of the overall Facebook ecosystem. Plus, maintaining a legitimate presence keeps your account access and functionality secure.
Conclusion
Account quality reflects how genuine, secure, and community-minded a Facebook account is. Low quality accounts damage user experiences and trust in the platform, which is why Facebook employs extensive measures to detect and penalize fake, abusive, or spammy accounts. All users play a role in fostering a healthy community by securing their accounts and reporting bad behavior. Focusing on authenticity and respect makes Facebook better for everyone.