Having a robust friends list on Facebook can make the experience more engaging and personalized. Facebook’s friend recommendation algorithm aims to connect you with people you may know and want to be friends with. However, you may have noticed your suggested friends list either drastically shrink or disappear altogether. There are a few potential reasons this can happen.
Facebook’s Algorithm Updates
One of the most common reasons suggested friends can disappear is due to Facebook updating its friend recommendation algorithm. Facebook is constantly tweaking its complex algorithms that decide which potential friends to display to users. Small changes to the algorithm can have big impacts on your suggested friends list.
For example, in 2018 Facebook updated their algorithm to prioritize suggesting friends that users are likely to have “meaningful” interactions with. This change meant fewer vague friend recommendations, like friends of friends or people you briefly met once. While it improved friend suggestions for some, it removed a lot of potential friends for others.
Limitations to Suggested Friends
Facebook purposefully limits how many suggested friends you can see at one time. This prevents spamming users with too many recommendations. However, it also means your suggested friends can quickly max out.
Typically, Facebook caps suggested friends around 100-200 people. Once you’ve scrolled through the list, there are no more recommendations. The limit refreshes as some suggestions are removed or you add new friends.
Location and Language Targeting
Facebook aims to show friend suggestions most relevant to each user. To help determine relevance, it considers location and language settings on profiles. If you have very niche location or language preferences set, it severely limits friend recommendations.
For example, someone located in a remote area of Alaska likely has fewer friend suggestions than a person in Los Angeles. Specific language preferences also reduce options. If your profile is set to only French, friend options are lower than English, Facebook’s most popular language.
Privacy Settings and Activity
How open your profile is and how actively you engage with Facebook also impact suggested friends. If you have stringent privacy settings, Facebook has less data to utilize for recommendations. Low activity also provides fewer data points.
For the best results, it’s recommended to set your profile visibility to “Public” and consistently interact with content. This gives Facebook’s algorithm more input for generating relevant suggestions.
New Account Status
When you first create a Facebook account, you are flooded with many suggested friends. This is based primarily on public profile data like location, school, workplace, etc. However, as your account ages, Facebook relies more on your activity within the platform.
With a new account, you likely see many one-off friend suggestions you don’t know. But as your account matures, recommendations become more personalized and targeted to your direct connections.
Added Most Suggested Friends
A simple reason your suggestions may have disappeared is because you added most of them as friends. Once you become connected, Facebook removes them as a suggestion. Broadening your network outside your immediate circle helps replenish your friend recommendation list.
You Hid or Reported Friends
If you consistently hid or reported friend suggestions, Facebook picks up on those signals. It then works to avoid recommending similar profiles you are unlikely to add. Be more selective in hiding and reporting suggestions to keep your options open.
How to Get More Suggested Friends on Facebook
If your Facebook friend suggestions are sparse or nonexistent, there are tactics to increase them:
- Add more personal details to your profile like education, job, hometown, etc.
- Join Facebook groups related to your interests
- Engage actively with Facebook content by liking, commenting, sharing
- Connect your Facebook to other social media profiles like Instagram
- Broaden your profile visibility settings to public
- Search for people you know and send friend requests
- Use Facebook’s “Find Friends” tool to match contacts
Changing Suggested Friends Settings
You can also optimize your Facebook ad settings to improve friend recommendations:
- Go to your Facebook Settings
- Select “Ads”
- Choose “Ad Settings”
- Scroll down and click “Hide ad topics”
- Uncheck “Friends”
This allows Facebook to use your ad topic preferences to suggest relevant friends. Just keep in mind it may increase ads not related to friends.
Ask Friends to Tag You
Being tagged by friends in posts and photos is a strong social signal. It shows you are actively connected in real life. Ask friends to tag you occasionally, and avoid untagging yourself.
The more you are authentically tagged organically, the more relevance Facebook’s algorithm assigns to their friends as suggestions for you.
Reconnecting with Old Contacts
Searching for people you’ve lost touch with is a great way to resurface friend recommendations. Tools like Facebook’s Graph Search make it easy to find people by school, hometown, relatives, employer and more.
Look up old acquaintances you want to reconnect with. When you send them a friend request, it reminds Facebook to supplement your suggestions with similar dormant connections.
Managing Suggested Friends
Take advantage of Facebook’s options to manage your suggested friends:
- Temporarily hide a suggestion – Click the X icon next to their name
- Permanently remove a suggestion – Click the 3 dots icon and select “Remove”
- Refine preferences – Use “Filter Suggestions” to manage location, relationship status, and more
Troubleshooting Issues
If your suggested friends are still limited after trying all other tactics, it may be an account-specific issue. Things to check:
- Make sure your account is in good standing and not restricted
- Confirm your profile and privacy settings are as open as desired
- Check that your location services are enabled for Facebook
- Log out and back into Facebook to refresh the algorithm
- Clear your Facebook cookies and cache
- Contact Facebook support if all else fails
Use Facebook’s “Find Friends” Tool
Facebook’s “Find Friends” tool compares your contacts to match you with friends. It searches your:
- Email contacts
- Phone contacts
- Linked social media accounts like Instagram
People who are already on Facebook but not friends with you will show up as suggestions. This can be an easy way to surface more recommendations.
Leverage Facebook Suggestions on Messenger
If you’re struggling to get suggested friends on your Facebook feed, try Messenger instead. Messenger friend suggestions can pull from different sources than the main app.
Open your Messenger app and go to the Friends tab. Here you may find contacts Facebook thinks you know but aren’t connected with yet on Messenger or Facebook.
Use Facebook’s “People You May Know” List
Facebook shows friend recommendations in the “People You May Know” list on your sidebar. This list resurfaces people you’ve previously ignored or hidden from Suggested Friends.
Periodically checking this list can uncover new recommendations you overlooked. It’s also sorted based on relevance, so top suggestions are optimal.
Connect with Friends of Friends
Mutual friends is one of Facebook’s strongest signals for relevance. A simple way to get more suggestions is connecting with the friends of existing friends.
Check out the Friends lists of close connections. Look for people you know and send requests. Facebook will pick up on the mutual friend pattern.
Conclusion
Facebook friend suggestions disappearing can be frustrating. But leveraging Facebook’s tools along with your own social network can rebuild your recommendations. Focus on broadening connections, engaging actively, and fine-tuning settings. With time and effort, you’ll reconnect with old and new faces alike.