Facebook Telepathy

October 12, 2011 12:02 PM

[Facebook-filter]. The following has happened three times in the last week: I was surfing facebook, and clicked on several friends of friends, only to have them try to add me either simultaneously or moments after I viewed them. This can't be coincidence can it?

The fact that this hasn't happened once in my 5+ years of facebook-use seems consistent with basic probability. The first time it happened was weird enough. But three times? In one week? I am baffled. I mean, what are the chances this could be random?

Facebook claims no one can tell when we look at each other.

I wonder if there is some indirect mechanism connecting my viewing of them and their adding me. Perhaps you get added to their right-hand column ("Friends you might know") if you took a peek, prompting them unconsciously to add you in response?

posted by eagle-bear to technology (6 answers total)

That sounds quite probably, but since it's closed source and a private company, anyone that did have an insider's perspective would probably be risking their job if they answered your question.

The rest of us have Google, like you do, and aren't likely to come up with a lot more.

There are two factors here:

1) What you're suggesting is technically possible.
2) We can either choose to believe, or not believe, what Facebook claims happens under the hood.

I'd imagine that you could get a couple friends together and run an experiment to find out whether the suggested friends feed changes when you click on a profile. But without more insights into the code, it would be very difficult to ever know for certain.
posted by Stagger Lee at 12:25 PM on October 12, 2011 [1 favorite]

Facebook has an algorithm that monitors how often you click on someone's profile (friend or not), and uses that information to to determine what friend suggestions you get.

For example, if I click on a my friend Amy's friend's profile a couple times, they're more likely to show up on my Amy's friend list next time I'm on Amy's profile.

I don't know if this is what caused the events you're talking about, but it's entirely possible that by clicking on someone's profile you set off Facebook's "potential friend algorithm" and your fase popped up in their "you might be friends with..." box.
posted by auto-correct at 12:33 PM on October 12, 2011

You could try asking those three people if you were in the "People you may know" box. I'm sure if you explain the situation they wouldn't think it that weird.
posted by Deflagro at 12:33 PM on October 12, 2011 [2 favorites]

Are you sure they're definitely friend requests (from the people themselves) rather than friend suggestions (from Facebook, triggered by you clicking on their profiles)? Facebook is quite good at disguising the latter as the former.
posted by penguin pie at 2:52 PM on October 12, 2011 [3 favorites]

I've HEARD, though I've never tested it, that if you look at a non-friend's profile you then come up in their "People You May Know" section.
posted by magnetsphere at 3:58 PM on October 12, 2011

I do know that's how LinkedIn does friend suggestions (I've tested it over there)
posted by miyabo at 7:21 PM on October 12, 2011