Is Facebook sending my FB friends emails about me?

April 7, 2024 6:48 AM

A few times per week, I get an email from Facebook that says something like, "John Smith commented on Yale University's post" or "Susie Smith commented on The Yellow Cafe's post." Are my Facebook friends getting emails about my comments that I make on Facebook?

These people in the emails are my friends on Facebook, so it's not unexpected that I am receiving the emails. I am just concerned that my Facebook friends are getting emails like these that are about me. I have been all through the Facebook settings and haven't found a place where I can turn something like that off.

posted by allison00 to Computers & Internet (7 answers total)

In Settings > Preferences > Notifications, you can turn "Updates from friends" off, to stop you getting emails about your friends' activity.

I'm not aware of a way you can influence what notifications Facebook sends your friends about your activity.
posted by Klipspringer at 7:02 AM on April 7 [2 favorites]

Well, probably. Facebook treats one's public comments on public pages/groups as fair game and mixes them into your friends' feeds, and sometimes runs out of real notifications to send and uses them there, too.
posted by BungaDunga at 7:02 AM on April 7 [1 favorite]

I have, for instance, had Facebook surface into my feed a "friend"s gamergate-style misogynistic comments from various public groups he's in, which certainly told me something about the guy that I wasn't previously aware of.
posted by BungaDunga at 7:04 AM on April 7 [1 favorite]

Of course they are. Look at this engagement!
posted by pompomtom at 7:09 AM on April 7

Response by poster: So, if a page/group is public, it's fair game. If it's private/closed, it shouldn't show up then? I think that's probably ok for my situation. I'm just glad I am aware going forward.
posted by allison00 at 7:13 AM on April 7

Best answer: "So, if a page/group is public, it's fair game."

This is definitely the case.

"If it's private/closed, it shouldn't show up then? I think that's probably ok for my situation. I'm just glad I am aware going forward."

I wouldn't make this assumption. You are still commenting on software/a server owned by Facebook. It's best to assume anything you post/comment/share anywhere online is fair game to be found or shared.
posted by Meldanthral at 7:31 AM on April 7 [9 favorites]

I'd also note that relying on the privacy settings for a group you don't own/control, especially if it has fewer than 5,000 members, isn't perfect - those can be changed. You would get a notification under the current policies. I belong to a bunch of local FB groups but assume that whatever I post there has the potential to become public.
posted by warriorqueen at 9:45 AM on April 7 [1 favorite]