People You May Know is a feature on Facebook that suggests new friends or connections based on mutual friends, workplaces, schools attended, and other factors. The goal of this feature is to help users expand their networks and connect with new people on Facebook that they may know in real life.
How Does Facebook Generate Suggestions for People You May Know?
There are a few main ways that Facebook comes up with suggestions for people you may know:
Mutual Friends
If you and another person have several friends in common on Facebook, the platform’s algorithm will view this as a strong indicator that you may know each other. So having mutual friends is one of the top factors that will cause someone to show up as a recommendation in People You May Know.
Networks and Contact Information
If you’ve given Facebook access to your contact list, email addresses, phone numbers, or other networks like your LinkedIn profile, it can match this data to suggest connections. For example, if someone in your phone’s contact list is also a Facebook member, they may show up as a recommendation.
Workplaces and Schools
If you’ve listed your workplace or schools you’ve attended on your Facebook profile, this can be another signal Facebook uses. If you and another person work at the same company or went to the same school, you’ll be more likely to show up in each other’s People You May Know.
Location
If you and another Facebook user list locations in your profiles that are near each other, or frequently check into places near each other, this location-based data can also generate suggestions.
Events
If you and another person have both indicated you’re going to the same event or have checked into the same location for an event, you may be suggested as people to connect with.
Pages and Groups
If you are both members of the same Facebook groups or have liked the same pages, this common interest can also lead to suggestions.
Other Connections
There are other signals Facebook may use as well, such as if you and another person have common family members or relationships, have interacted on Facebook before, or have overlapping social circles or friends of friends.
Why Does Facebook Suggest People You May Know?
There are a few key reasons why Facebook puts effort into recommending new connections with this feature:
To Expand Social Graphs
Facebook’s purpose is to connect people. So suggesting new potential friends helps users grow their own networks on Facebook, which ultimately benefits the platform by keeping people engaged.
To Drive Engagement
When people find and connect with new friends on Facebook, they tend to spend more time scrolling through updates and interacting on the platform. So People You May Know helps drive more usage and time spent.
To Improve Ad Targeting
With a more robust social graph and understanding of user connections, Facebook can improve its ad targeting abilities. Advertisers are able to target ads based on user behaviors, interests, and connections.
To Generate Revenue
By driving more engagement and improving ad targeting, the People You May Know feature ultimately contributes to Facebook’s core business model of generating revenue through advertising.
Pros and Cons of Connecting With Suggested Friends
Here are some potential upsides and downsides of choosing to connect with the people Facebook suggests:
Pros
- Find and reconnect with old friends or acquaintances
- Expand your social circle and meet new like-minded people
- Stay updated on what distant connections are up to
- Grow your professional network on Facebook
Cons
- Overwhelming or unwanted friend requests
- Exposing your profile and updates to broad audience
- Blurring of professional and personal boundaries
- Less control over privacy settings and who sees your information
How Accurate Are the Recommendations?
The accuracy of People You May Know recommendations can vary quite a bit depending on individual factors. In general:
- Suggestions of close friends tend to be highly accurate
- Suggestions around workplace and school networks can be hit or miss
- Suggestions involving secondary connections may result in lower accuracy
One study examining People You May Know found that for an average Facebook user, approximately 40% of the recommendations are people they truly know either offline or online. The remaining 60% are suggestions that are irrelevant or unwanted.
The more information you provide on your Facebook profile such as schools, job, contacts, etc., the more accurate the suggestions may become. But overall, a significant portion of recommendations may not be known contacts.
How to Manage Suggestions
If you find the People You May Know recommendations overwhelming or irrelevant, there are a few things you can do to manage them:
Adjust Privacy Settings
Limit the amount of profile and account information Facebook can use to generate suggestions. For example, remove workplace, school networks, etc.
Decline Irrelevant Suggestions
Actively clicking the “X” to decline suggestions that are not relevant people helps refine the algorithm over time.
Remove Contact Access
Revoke Facebook’s access to your contacts, email, phone number etc. in settings to limit suggestions from those sources.
Use Additional Filters
Make use of filters on Facebook to exclude certain suggestions if unwanted, like coworkers or classmates for example.
Conclusions
In summary, People You May Know uses signals like mutual friends, networks, location, interests, and more to recommend new connections. The feature aims to expand social graphs and drive engagement on Facebook. Connecting with suggestions can help rediscover old connections or meet new people, but can also come with downsides like unwanted contact or privacy concerns. Ultimately, adjusting privacy settings, declining unwanted suggestions, and revoking contact access can help users manage these recommendations.