In recent years, Facebook has made several changes to its search functionality that have limited users’ ability to search for other people’s profiles on the platform. Most notably, in late 2020, Facebook removed the ability for users to search for profiles by entering a phone number or email address. This change has made it much more difficult for people to look up strangers on Facebook, even if they have some identifying information like a phone number.
There are a few key reasons why Facebook decided to restrict profile searching capabilities:
Protect User Privacy
One of the main motivations behind limiting search was to better protect user privacy. In the past, the ability to enter someone’s phone number or email into Facebook search made it too easy to look up private profiles. This feature was being abused by people trying to find information on strangers without consent. Removing this search option helps give users more control over their privacy.
Reduce Harassment/Abuse
Another aim of limiting search was to reduce harassment and abuse on the platform. Unwanted contacting and stalking was enabled by the ability to easily look up strangers’ profiles. By requiring a name to search, it makes it harder for abusive users to target people they don’t know. This change was part of Facebook’s larger efforts to combat bullying and harassment on its platform.
Focus on Connecting Friends/Family
Facebook likely also wanted to refocus the search feature on connecting friends and family, rather than enabling searching random strangers. The social network began as a closed campus directory at Harvard and has shifted back towards prioritizing connections between existing friends rather than enabling open searches. This aligns with Mark Zuckerberg’s vision that Facebook should be a platform for “meaningful social interactions.”
When/Why Search was Restricted
Here is a timeline of when Facebook implemented major changes to search capabilities and some of the reasons behind the shifts:
October 2020
In October 2020, Facebook removed the ability for users to search for profiles by entering a phone number or email address. Both mobile and desktop versions of Facebook were affected by this change.
Reasons for the change:
– Protect user privacy and prevent abuse/harassment by making it harder to look up strangers’ profiles.
– Reduce harmful or unauthorized data collection and usage. Phone numbers and emails can be sensitive personal information.
– Promote more “authentic” connections between friends rather than search stalking.
December 2020
In December 2020, Facebook updated its search function so that users have to enter a full name in order to search for profiles. Previously, entering just a first name would bring up possible matches.
Reasons for this change:
– Further increase privacy protections and prevent abuse by making it harder to search for people without consent.
– Reduce spread of misinformation, scams and inauthentic behavior by limiting the reach of fake profiles.
– Focus Facebook’s purpose on connecting friends and family who know each other fully. Strangers generally only know someone’s full name.
What Search Capabilities Were Removed?
Here are some of the specific search capabilities Facebook has removed in recent years:
Searching by Phone Number or Email
As mentioned above, in October 2020 Facebook stopped allowing searches for profiles by entering a phone number or email address. This was previously a common way for people to try looking up strangers or new acquaintances.
Searching with Partial Name
Previously, users could search for profiles by entering just a first name or a first and last name initial. In December 2020, Facebook required searching with a full first and last name in order to look up profiles.
Searching Within Friends of Friends
Facebook used to allow searching within friends of friends, which made it possible to find profiles even outside of your own friend network. This option has been removed, limiting search visibility.
Searching by Location/School/Workplace
Users also used to be able to search for people by location, school, or workplace if that information was available in profiles. This made it easy to find strangers in a certain city or company. Facebook has limited access to these search options.
Browsing Search Suggestions
As users type in search terms, Facebook would previously show suggested profiles to browse through. They removed the ability to casually browse these search recommendations without a specific name entered.
Are There Any Search Capabilities Left?
While Facebook has limited search capabilities in many ways, there are still some search functions available:
Searching with Full Name
You can search for profiles by entering a first and last name, which will show matches within your friend network. However, it’s no longer possible to search for strangers without some connection.
Searching Friends Lists
It’s still possible to search for friends within your own friends list. You can enter their name or browse the alphabetical list. This makes it easy to find existing connections.
Searching for Pages/Groups
Searching for Facebook pages and public groups by name is still an option. This allows you to find profiles for businesses, organizations, celebrities, etc.
Finding Friends of Friends
You can search for friends of friends within your own extended network. However, it’s limited compared to previously being able to browse friends of friends more broadly.
Looking Up Messenger Contacts
If you’re connected with someone on Messenger, you can search for them by name within your messages and contacts. But you must already have some connection.
So in summary, while search is still possible in some cases, Facebook has prioritized limiting searchability for strangers and casual browsing. The focus is now on finding people you already know and have existing ties to.
Are These Changes Permanent?
Based on Facebook’s statements about the changes to search, it seems unlikely they will re-open search capabilities to what they were before. Here are some reasons the restrictions will likely persist:
User Privacy and Safety
Protecting user privacy and safety seems to be a high priority for Facebook that drove many of the search changes. With privacy and safety scandals like Cambridge Analytica, Facebook is likely wary of adding features that could compromise these aims again.
Lawmaker and Public Scrutiny
Facebook has faced immense scrutiny from lawmakers and the public for how it handles safety and data privacy. Reversing search limitations could spur renewed backlash that Facebook probably wants to avoid.
Limited Business Reasons to Expand
From a business standpoint, Facebook may have limited incentives to re-open search capabilities. The advertising-driven platform can still target ads without broader public search features.
Focus on Facebook Community Standards
Facebook’s Community Standards and values emphasize friends connecting with friends and family. Broader search capabilities would misalign with these standards that Facebook upholds.
Could Search Ever Be Expanded Again?
While it seems unlikely Facebook will completely revert search to how it worked before, there are scenarios where they could expand capabilities again:
If Required by Law
If Facebook were required by law to allow broader search capabilities, they may have to comply. However, current legal trends are aligned with increased privacy protections.
Shifting Company Priorities
If Facebook’s values or business priorities shifted significantly, leadership could theoretically decide to re-open search. But significant public backlash would be likely.
Privacy-Protecting Search Tools
Facebook may explore adding privacy protections to search, such as requiring mutual consent to be searchable. This could enable some capabilities while protecting users.
Integrating with Other Meta Apps
Expanding search within Facebook’s family of apps from Meta could allow searching certain information from WhatsApp or Instagram, etc.
Increasing Search Transparency
Facebook could consider allowing searches again but requiring transparency on who is searching for you. This would identify inappropriate search behavior.
Alternative Social Media Search Options
Although Facebook has limited search capabilities, there are still some alternative social media platforms that allow searching for people more openly:
Most Twitter profiles are public, and users can search by name or username to find people. This can enable connecting with strangers.
TikTok
TikTok has open search that allows users to find creators by name, username or hashtag. This powers viral discovery.
YouTube
YouTube allows searching billions of public videos by keywords and channels by name. Commenting enables connecting as well.
LinkedIn has powerful search tools for finding professionals by name, company, school, location and more. Users can connect via messaging.
Pinterest allows searching for and following other users’ public boards and pins based on keywords or names.
GitHub
GitHub makes it easy to search developers by name and browse public code repositories for collaboration opportunities.
So while Facebook search is now more limited, there are many sites on the social web that still enable public searching and connecting with strangers. Each platform offers different types of search capabilities aligned with its purpose.
Tips for Finding People on Today’s Facebook
While completely open people search isn’t supported on Facebook anymore, here are some tips for finding profiles within the limits of current search:
Search by Full Name
Use a contact’s first and last name to look them up. Having the full name makes it possible to find friends of friends at least.
Try Alternative Name Spellings
If an uncommon name doesn’t produce results, try likely nicknames or alternate spellings that may be used.
Use Friends Lists
Browse your own friends lists to search for connections instead of searching broadly. The birthday list can jog your memory.
Leverage Messenger Contacts
If you’ve interacted on Messenger, you can search for contacts more easily as you already have a connection.
Search Within Groups
Join interest-based public or private groups where you may share common connections to search within.
Connect Offline First
It’s easiest to find people you already know outside of Facebook, such as classmates or colleagues. Search after connecting in real life.
The Future of Social Media Search
While Facebook has scaled back search capabilities, social media platforms evolve constantly, and the future of social search could shift again. Here are some possibilities:
More Privacy Control Options
Platforms may enable more granular privacy settings and consent flows for searching profiles. This empowers users to customize searchability.
Decentralized Identity Management
Emerging decentralized identity tools like blockchain could allow interoperable social graph data under user control across platforms.
Federated Social Networks
Grassroots federated social networks could gain adoption, making social data portable between platforms rather than siloed.
Blurring Work/Personal Networks
Traditional personal social networks may further blend with work tools like Slack or Microsoft Teams, creating new search possibilities.
Continued Consolidation
Industry consolidation between social/search giants like Facebook, Google and Microsoft could allow new pooled search capabilities.
Ultimately, social search evolves continually as technology, business interests, laws, and user behavior shift. While Facebook search as it originally existed may not return, the social web will continue creating new ways for people to find and connect with each other online.
Conclusion
Facebook’s removal of open searching for profiles limits the ability to browse and lookup strangers online. This reflects a shift in Facebook’s values and priorities toward user privacy and authentic connections between friends. Complete openness seems unlikely to return soon considering current trends. However, users still have some search options within friend networks and alternative platforms continue enabling public social discovery. The future could potentially allow new privacy-protecting search innovations on social networks. But for now, Facebook searching focuses on finding connections you already have offline rather than unknown strangers online.