How Do You Recommend A Friend On Facebook

Suggest Friends On Facebook



I have actually occasionally obtained 'invitations' from people, most of whom I recognize only slightly, to join them on Facebook. I've no wish to sign up with Facebook, so simply neglect these. The other day, nevertheless, I received yet one more invite, from someone that runs art courses I once enquired about. Beneath, Facebook provides three other people that have welcomed me in the past. And also, listed below that, there is a checklist of 9 other individuals 'whom you may know'-- none of whom have ever before invited me, and also 3 of whom I have had only extremely fundamental contact with-- eg a solitary enquiry made to an archivist.

This actually worries me-- how does Facebook know that I have ever had any kind of contact with these people? Can Facebook access their emails, see where they are all going to, and also cross-reference them with individuals that have received an invitation from elsewhere? Or can they, having actually when been given my email address, in some way access to my Sent messages, see where they are being sent to, as well as cross-reference them versus their existing Facebook subscription ??

This truly frets me-- it just seems such an invasion of my personal privacy, and issues me that they might have the ability to access all sorts of personal details and also discussions.

Can you discuss just how this can be taking place, and also suggest any way to block it, please??

I'm not privy to all the details of how Facebook works. That being said, I can hazard a guess regarding exactly how Facebook (or any social network with similar abilities) could be making these referrals.

No, Facebook is not looking at anyone's email (outside of messages sent on Facebook itself).

Facebook pal suggestions and also invites to join Facebook-- whether emailed, or recommendations when checked in to Facebook-- are nothing greater than what I would certainly characterize as very informed assumptions.

Tom as well as Prick, meet Harry

Right here's one means I assume this occurs:

  • Your pal "Tom" sends you a buddy request, which you overlook. However, Facebook keeps in mind that he did so.

  • Another good friend, "Dick", also sends you a pal request, which you also overlook. Once more, Facebook bears in mind.

  • " Tom" and also "Cock" have a buddy in common-- I'll call him "Harry". Both Tom and also Dick welcomed Harry to be friends, as well as Harry accepted.


So, right here's what Facebook understands:

  • Tom declares to understand you.

  • Cock claims to know you.

  • Tom and Prick both recognize Harry.


The educated guess is: considering that Tom and also Dick both assert to know you and Harry, maybe you understand Harry. For this reason, Harry comes to be an "other person you may understand".

As well as you might. Or you may not.

Mutual interests

Another circumstance plays out based out mutual friends, but common interests.

  • As in the past, your good friend "Tom" sends you a close friend demand, which you neglect and Facebook remembers.

  • " Cock" also sends you a good friend demand, which you additionally ignore and also Facebook remembers.

  • " Tom" and also "Penis" both happen to have "Liked" a page on Corgis.


So, right here's what Facebook understands:

  • Tom declares to recognize you.

  • Cock declares to recognize you.

  • Tom as well as Prick both like a Corgi web page.


A various informed hunch is that considering that Tom and also Cock both understand you, as well as they share a preference of Corgis, you might also such as Corgis. As a matter of fact, you may such as to be friends with other people that also suched as the Corgi page. So Facebook selects somebody at random that likewise suches as the Corgi page and suggests that you may such as to be close friends.

Certainly, if there's more overlap-- even more common interests Facebook knows about-- it may select people that have the most in common with Tom and also Penis, and also thus hopefully you.

If you are currently on Facebook

This type of shared-connections-and-interests analysis goes on in considerably more detail if you already have a Facebook account. Facebook after that can toss into the calculation the web pages you liked, the good friends you approved, the posts you clicked on, liked, and also shared, as well as even your location as well as other information you have actually provided it.

The outcome is that they could recommend full strangers as feasible friends.

I discover concerning 50% of Facebook's preliminary suggestions are individuals I don't know, as well as concerning fifty percent of the remainder are individuals I may understand however do not wish to connect with anyway.

It's not something I stress over

Currently, as I said, I don't understand exactly just how Facebook-- or any type of social network-- actually functions. In fact, I 'd want to wager that the details are considerably much more complex. If absolutely nothing else, they are privy to millions of relationship connections, interests, and also actions to make these reasonings.

But I'm willing to wager it's simply that: nothing greater than Facebook evaluating all the information its members have actually offered to infer that might know that-- even for people that are not yet participants.

I get that it may seem a little scary, but I do not think it's as invasive as you fear. It's merely utilizing the social connections its members supply to make a few well-educated guesses.

Sadly, to answer your last concern, I'm not familiar with a means to actually block Facebook's emailed invitations, apart from to maybe report them as spam.