Facebook’s “People You May Know” feature suggests new friends based on several factors. The algorithm looks at things like friends you have in common, networks you’re part of, and other connections to recommend people. Some common reasons you may see certain people include:
Friends of Friends
One of the main ways Facebook generates suggestions is by looking at your friends list and recommending their friends that you don’t already know. So if you have a lot of mutual friends with someone, there’s a good chance they’ll show up in your recommendations. The more friends you have in common, the more likely Facebook’s algorithm is to suggest them.
Schools and Workplaces
If you’ve listed your education or work information on your profile, Facebook will recommend people who have also attended or worked at those places. For example, if you went to the same college as someone, you’re more likely to show up in each other’s People You May Know even if you weren’t friends at the time.
Location
People who live in your area or city may also show up as suggested friends. Facebook looks at location data and the places you’ve checked into to find geographical connections. So even if you’ve never met someone, living near each other could cause them to appear in your recommendations.
Friends of Friends of Friends
Facebook will sometimes suggest second-degree connections – friends of your friends’ friends. So even if you don’t have any friends in common with someone, you may still get recommended if you share connections further out in your social graph. The strength of these recommendations depends on how many connections you share at this extended level.
Networks and Groups
If you are part of the same Facebook groups or networks as someone, you’re more likely to show up in each other’s People You May Know. Networks can include your school, workplace, or city. The more groups you have in common, the stronger the suggestion.
Liked Pages and Posts
Facebook looks at page likes and posts you have interacted with. If you and another person like many of the same pages or often engage with the same posts, Facebook may suggest you connect. This helps surface people who share common interests and affiliations.
Contacts and Phone Numbers
If someone in your contacts list or phone book is on Facebook, they may show up as a recommendation. Facebook can access your contact information if you opt in to syncing contacts. If someone has your phone number or email saved in their contacts, you may get recommended to each other.
Events
People you’ve RSVP’d to the same events as in the past may get recommended to you. Facebook looks at events you’ve attended, pages for those events, and the guest list to find connections. So if you notice someone from a recent event, that shared context likely influenced the recommendation.
shadows profiles and information
Facebook also builds “shadow profiles” of non-users by collecting information about them from the data and activity of their friends on Facebook. So you may be recommended friends who are not even on the platform yet, based on data Facebook has still collected about them.
Other Possible Factors
While the above are some of the most common reasons you see certain people recommended, here are a few other potential factors Facebook may consider:
– Advertisers and partners who pay for increased visibility
– Sponsored recommendations from businesses/organizations
– Connections made through Marketplace interactions
– Facial recognition matches in photos
– Patterns in messaging/chat contacts
– Shared connections across multiple social media platforms
– Information from data brokers or aggregators
– Users who have searched for your name or profile
Facebook’s full algorithm is proprietary and not publicly known. But in general, People You May Know suggestions are based on maximizing engagement and connections on the platform. The more data points you share with a potential friend, the more likely Facebook is to recommend them.
Why You May See Some Suggestions More than Others
Certain types of connections are weighted more heavily in Facebook’s algorithm, causing some people to be recommended very frequently. Here are some reasons you’re more likely to see the same suggestions repeatedly:
| Connection Type | Reason for Frequent Appearance |
|---|---|
| Close Friends | Lots of shared connections and interactions |
| Friends of Close Friends | High number of mutual friends |
| University Network | Strong shared affiliation |
| Close Geography | Frequently cross paths and interact |
| Active Interactions | Regular commenting, liking, messaging |
People who are close degrees of connection, share multiple contexts, or engage actively on Facebook will continually get suggested since they are highly relevant. Even if you ignore the recommendation, they are likely to keep re-appearing.
How to See Fewer Irrelevant Recommendations
If your People You May Know section contains suggestions that don’t seem relevant, here are a few ways to clean it up:
– Remove contacts you don’t know or recognize. This prevents wrong number matches.
– Restrict old contacts from seeing your profile or searching you.
– Delete contacts of friends you’ve fallen out of touch with.
– Turn off location services and be careful when checking into places.
– Leave networks and groups that you no longer identify with.
– Be selective about liking pages and advertising your interests.
– Limit ad targeting preferences in your account settings.
– Delete your account if you want to stop recommendations entirely.
Essentially, being more restrictive about who can see your information limits the data Facebook has to make connections. But random recommendations can still occur, since the algorithm casts a wide net.
Controlling Recommendations
If you want to curate your People You May Know section more directly, you have a few options:
– Remove recommendations from your feed in Settings.
– X out the box next to individuals you don’t want suggested.
– Select “I don’t know this person” on irrelevant recommendations.
– Block particular people from being recommended again.
This user feedback helps train Facebook’s algorithm over time. But you may need to continually prune unwanted recommendations as new ones surface.
Conclusion
Facebook’s friend recommendations aim to help you discover new connections and enhance engagement. But the reasons people appear in your People You May Know feed can sometimes be unclear. The most common factors are shared friends, interests, locations, and networks. Repeated suggestions typically indicate a strong algorithmic match. While you can’t eliminate recommendations entirely, curating privacy settings, profile info, and your response to suggestions can obtain more relevant results. Testing different approaches takes patience, but gives you greater control over potential new friends.