FB friend suggestions

H

HavocXphere

Honorary Master
Joined
Oct 19, 2007
Messages
33,155
Someone riddle me this:

I get an email from my landlord. Then FB proceeds to suggest her as a friend an hour later. How?

  • Gmail to Gmail email
  • iPhone
  • Not saved as phone contact
  • Landlord doesn't have my current phone number
  • All comms thus far was face to face or via gmail
  • No mutual friends
  • No whatsapp contact/comms

I don't get how FB figured that out, let alone that timing. :confused:
 
supersunbird

supersunbird

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Oct 1, 2005
Messages
60,142
I think FB does more digging than they let on. I have had them suggest friends who I have only ever whatsapped. I don't have FB on my phone. My phone number not linked to my FB.
 
APoc184

APoc184

Honorary Master
Joined
Sep 6, 2008
Messages
24,668
I remember seeing a video a while ago where a guy and his girlfriend did a experiment because they believed the Facebook App on their phones were "spying" on them.

They basically decided to talk about an arbitrary subject as much as they could. In their case cat food. They have no cats, they never had cats and they never ever discussed cat food or cats in general before that.

Fast forward a few days and bingo the ads in the Facebook app were for cat food.

I'll try to find the video now.

So chances are the App tracks a lot more stuff than people believe and might be the same in your case.
 
Last edited:
APoc184

APoc184

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Sep 6, 2008
Messages
24,668
Found it.

[video=youtube;U0SOxb_Lfps]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0SOxb_Lfps[/video]
 
OCP

OCP

Executive Member
Joined
Jan 23, 2014
Messages
5,305
Happends to me all the time .

I have a FB account but only log in from browser once or twice a month (or when someone contacts me and i get an email alert)

No app on phone.

Almost every time i add a contact on my phone (synced to MS Exchange server) that person will come up as a friend suggestion next time i log in.
 
S

Sl8er

Executive Member
Joined
Aug 12, 2010
Messages
8,708
supersunbird said:
I think FB does more digging than they let on. I have had them suggest friends who I have only ever whatsapped. I don't have FB on my phone. My phone number not linked to my FB.
Click to expand...

You probably have whatsapp on your phone, right?
;)
 
Werfetter

Werfetter

Senior Member
Joined
Jan 29, 2010
Messages
985
Not just Facebook digging where they shouldn't. There was recently an article about mobile games listening in on your TV habits. What stops them from listening in on everything and just cataloging every word they can effectively recognize. If they have a name it is a simple matter to check your friends list and suggest every connection with that name as a contact. You wont notice the "other ones" because you haven't been in contact with them recently or even know them but they will be there too with one or two mutual friends. All you needed to do was say this person's name out loud near your phone...

Now I highly doubt this is what happened here, I am merely trying to show how information can be obtained in ways you are not aware of consciously.
 
supersunbird

supersunbird

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Joined
Oct 1, 2005
Messages
60,142
Sl8er said:
You probably have whatsapp on your phone, right?
;)
Click to expand...

Yes, but still not sure how they link my FB (which doesn't have my cell nr in profile and doesn't use gmail address and isn't installed on my mobile devices) to my WA contacts, I'm big on segmentation/separation ;)
 
S

Sl8er

Executive Member
Joined
Aug 12, 2010
Messages
8,708
supersunbird said:
Yes, but still not sure how they link my FB (which doesn't have my cell nr in profile and doesn't use gmail address and isn't installed on my mobile devices) to my WA contacts, I'm big on segmentation/separation ;)
Click to expand...

I fear you underestimate the sneakiness sir.jpg

:D
 
Hamster

Hamster

Resident Rodent
Joined
Aug 22, 2006
Messages
42,920
supersunbird said:
Yes, but still not sure how they link my FB (which doesn't have my cell nr in profile and doesn't use gmail address and isn't installed on my mobile devices) to my WA contacts, I'm big on segmentation/separation ;)
Click to expand...

In other words "paranoid"?
 
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