Facebook Friend Suggestions

Megwepz · 24-09-2019 3:59pm #1

Not sure if this is the right place for this so feel free to move.

I don't use social media for personal reasons at all, never have, can't stand it. Started a new job last year that required me to set up a personal FB account for use in managing a company account. My personal profile contains no more than a name, no posts, friends etc. I have the FB app on my work phone.

I have had a number of these weird instances of getting FB notifications with friend suggestions but this morning was by far the strangest and most worrying. I was on a tea break at work and had a discussion about a particular man that I knew. I don't have this man's number saved in either my work or personal phone. I have never looked him up online. Ten minutes after the conversation had finished I received a friend suggestion notification from FB for him..... how does happen? I'm a bit unnerved by it to be honest.

is_that_so · 24-09-2019 4:05pm

Probably linked to you by what you look at on FB, through your FB friends and their friends, by what the company does, by what employees in the company do and by the friends they have. Someone may also have received your name as a suggestion and then you've all their friends tagged on. FB have all the angles covered but don't sweat it, just reject them.

TheShow · 24-09-2019 4:08pm

your phone heard your conversation.

punisher5112 · 24-09-2019 4:10pm

Phone was listening or Alexa or Google....

Megwepz · 24-09-2019 4:12pm

See.... thing is, I don't have any friends on FB, I don't search for people or anything else on FB. There is literally no activity or info on my own page other than my name.

The company is small and only has 3 employees, me being one of them. None of us have the fact that we work for the company on our personal profiles. The company has c. 5k followers on it's page. Most of my posting on behalf of the company is via another app, Hootsuite, and not directly via FB app, desktop or mobile.

I'm just kinda stumped as to how this happened.

Megwepz · 24-09-2019 4:13pm

punisher5112 wrote: »

Phone was listening or Alexa or Google....

Honestly, without sounding like one of the tin foil hat brigade, I can't come up with any other valid reason than my conversation being monitored....

Please god someone tell me there is another reasonable explanation????

punisher5112 · 24-09-2019 4:14pm

Megwepz wrote: »

See.... thing is, I don't have any friends on FB, I don't search for people or anything else on FB. There is literally no activity or info on my own page other than my name.

The company is small and only has 3 employees, me being one of them. None of us have the fact that we work for the company on our personal profiles. The company has c. 5k followers on it's page. Most of my posting on behalf of the company is via another app, Hootsuite, and not directly via FB app, desktop or mobile.

I'm just kinda stumped as to how this happened.

I find Facebook on my old phone was logging itself in.... I deleted password and never linked but it would still be open....

I don't trust it to be honest.... Absolutely hate these social media crappy sites.

is_that_so · 24-09-2019 4:15pm

Megwepz wrote: »

See.... thing is, I don't have any friends on FB, I don't search for people or anything else on FB. There is literally no activity or info on my own page other than my name.

The company is small and only has 3 employees, me being one of them. None of us have the fact that we work for the company on our personal profiles. The company has c. 5k followers on it's page. Most of my posting on behalf of the company is via another app, Hootsuite, and not directly via FB app, desktop or mobile.

I'm just kinda stumped as to how this happened.

Then someone searched for either you or the company or it's the tinfoil explanation!

punisher5112 · 24-09-2019 4:16pm

Megwepz wrote: »

Honestly, without sounding like one of the tin foil hat brigade, I can't come up with any other valid reason than my conversation being monitored....

Please god someone tell me there is another reasonable explanation????

I've had similar with ad pop ups ...

Talking to the wife one day about something let's say a phonebox.... Then phonebox ads start popping up.

TheShow · 24-09-2019 4:16pm

It could be that said person was checking your profile on FB then you would get a friend suggestion from them.

Megwepz · 24-09-2019 4:18pm

is_that_so wrote: »

Then someone searched for either you or the company or it's the tinfoil explanation!

It's a fairly weird coincidence that this particular man chose to search for me/my company and I receive a suggestion as a result of this ten minutes after I have spoken about him for the first time in probably years?

TheShow · 24-09-2019 4:18pm

I logged into FB on my work computer ages ago. I have since logged out but any searches I do on google on my work desktop come up as ads on my phone on FB or insta etc... its very annoying.

is_that_so · 24-09-2019 4:20pm

Megwepz wrote: »

It's a fairly weird coincidence that this particular man chose to search for me/my company and I receive a suggestion as a result of this ten minutes after I have spoken about him for the first time in probably years?

It could be and who knows. I used to just say no to all of them and not think about why they were even suggested.

TheShow · 24-09-2019 4:21pm

FB could also be checking your contacts list on your phone and recognising any results as potential "friends"

3DataModem · 24-09-2019 4:22pm

Someone searched for you and the guy you mentioned, after your conversation. Facebook used this 3rd party information and took a shot that you knew each other.

Megwepz · 24-09-2019 4:24pm

punisher5112 wrote: »

I've had similar with ad pop ups ...

Talking to the wife one day about something let's say a phonebox.... Then phonebox ads start popping up.

But like.... surely accessing a phone's microphone is illegal and a gross violation of a person's privacy????

I don't normally get weirded out or dramatic about this stuff, as I say, have had a few strange instances in the past with FB but I've just brushed them off. But this morning just seems blatant without an alternative explanation? I carry this phone everywhere with me, it comes with me to weekly counselling sessions. Is there actually a chance they access my microphone?

Megwepz · 24-09-2019 4:25pm

TheShow wrote: »

FB could also be checking your contacts list on your phone and recognising any results as potential "friends"

Don't have this man's number in my phone, work or personal. Haven't had contact with him in years

Megwepz · 24-09-2019 4:26pm

3DataModem wrote: »

Someone searched for you and the guy you mentioned, after your conversation. Facebook used this 3rd party information and took a shot that you knew each other.

There was only 3 of us involved in the conversation, none of us searched for him....

punisher5112 · 24-09-2019 4:28pm

Megwepz wrote: »

But like.... surely accessing a phone's microphone is illegal and a gross violation of a person's privacy????

I don't normally get weirded out or dramatic about this stuff, as I say, have had a few strange instances in the past with FB but I've just brushed them off. But this morning just seems blatant without an alternative explanation? I carry this phone everywhere with me, it comes with me to weekly counselling sessions. Is there actually a chance they access my microphone?

In the small print many apps and social media optain full Access to all your devices controls, contacts, photos even settings.

Tazzimus · 24-09-2019 4:30pm

Megwepz wrote: »

But like.... surely accessing a phone's microphone is illegal and a gross violation of a person's privacy????

I don't normally get weirded out or dramatic about this stuff, as I say, have had a few strange instances in the past with FB but I've just brushed them off. But this morning just seems blatant without an alternative explanation? I carry this phone everywhere with me, it comes with me to weekly counselling sessions. Is there actually a chance they access my microphone?

It'll usually ask permission and people will usually allow it.
Or, it'll be in the agreement buried somewhere.

Nothing illegal about it.

It was your phone listening, I've had ads pop up on Facebook about things I was talking about to someone.

GBX · 24-09-2019 4:31pm

Megwepz wrote: »

But like.... surely accessing a phone's microphone is illegal and a gross violation of a person's privacy????

I don't normally get weirded out or dramatic about this stuff, as I say, have had a few strange instances in the past with FB but I've just brushed them off. But this morning just seems blatant without an alternative explanation? I carry this phone everywhere with me, it comes with me to weekly counselling sessions. Is there actually a chance they access my microphone?

A lot of permissions are allowed by default. Its up to the user to disable these. So the microphone may be automatically in use from the start.

Megwepz · 24-09-2019 4:31pm

punisher5112 wrote: »

In the small print many apps and social media optain full Access to all your devices controls, contacts, photos even settings.

I did have a look at all the privacy settings for both the FB app and the phone itself - couldn't see anything that would give the FB app permission to my contact, photos etc not to mind my microphone!

Then again, I'm sure in the Ts and Cs of signing up (that are probably 30+ pages long and no one reads) there could be something. But still... surely monitoring conversations can't be legal.

Megwepz · 24-09-2019 4:32pm

GBX wrote: »

A lot of permissions are allowed by default. Its up to the user to disable these. So the microphone may be automatically in use from the start.

Checked this and it's not the case, there were only 2 apps that were listed under the microphone section in settings - Siri and WhatsApp - both of these were off.

punisher5112 · 24-09-2019 4:33pm

Megwepz wrote: »

I did have a look at all the privacy settings for both the FB app and the phone itself - couldn't see anything that would give the FB app permission to my contact, photos etc not to mind my microphone!

Then again, I'm sure in the Ts and Cs of signing up (that are probably 30+ pages long and no one reads) there could be something. But still... surely monitoring conversations can't be legal.

As i said it comes up on the addition of the app and also hidden elsewhere.

Tazzimus · 24-09-2019 4:35pm

Megwepz wrote: »

I did have a look at all the privacy settings for both the FB app and the phone itself - couldn't see anything that would give the FB app permission to my contact, photos etc not to mind my microphone!

Then again, I'm sure in the Ts and Cs of signing up (that are probably 30+ pages long and no one reads) there could be something. But still... surely monitoring conversations can't be legal.

It is when it's agreed to, which you inadvertently did.

Same way, an Echo or Google Home device will monitor conversations

24-09-2019 4:36pm

Megwepz wrote: »

But like.... surely accessing a phone's microphone is illegal and a gross violation of a person's privacy????

Not if you click "yes" to the Ts and Cs it isn't. I thought this was fairly common knowledge that the FB and other apps listen in on your conversations?

Try this later. Find a youtube video of someone speaking Spanish for 30 mins or a Spanish-speaking radio station or something. Leave it playing beside your phone for a while, then see how many of the ads you start seeing around the place are in Spanish.

Megwepz · 24-09-2019 4:39pm

Deleted User wrote: »

Try this later. Find a youtube video of someone speaking Spanish for 30 mins or a Spanish-speaking radio station or something. Leave it playing beside your phone for a while, then see how many of the ads you start seeing around the place are in Spanish.

I'm honestly gonna try this later, I'll report back.

My skin is kinda crawling, particularly thinking about the conversations I've had with my counsellor. So - what can I do to stop this? I can't remove the app or shut down my page as it's required for work. Am I missing something in the privacy settings that disables their 'permission' to listen to me?

Tazzimus · 24-09-2019 4:41pm

Megwepz wrote: »

I'm honestly gonna try this later, I'll report back.

My skin is kinda crawling, particularly thinking about the conversations I've had with my counsellor. So - what can I do to stop this? I can't remove the app or shut down my page as it's required for work. Am I missing something in the privacy settings that disables their 'permission' to listen to me?

If it's a work phone, don't bring it.
Or: Turn it off, leave it in the car (if you have one)

It's fairly common knowledge that most smart devices that have a microphone in them will be listening to you.

Stark · 24-09-2019 4:44pm

If you have the person's phone number or email address in your contacts, it's very likely Facebook suggested them as a friend based on that.

The Facebook app is creepy af. Would never install it, just use the mobile website.

F1ngers · 24-09-2019 4:46pm

iPhone, go to Settings >> Facebook >> Settings >> slide the Microphone switch to the left so it turns from green to white. ...

Android: Try Settings >> Applications >> Application Manager >> look for Facebook >> Permissions >> Turn off the mic.

24-09-2019 4:47pm

In later versions of Android you can manually select and deselect what each app has access to, as far as I know. No idea about apple.

I agree its ultra creepy. I've never had a FB account, could never see the attraction when it first came out. They do, however, have a 'ghost profile' of me, because most of my friends and family have me in their phones and email contacts. If I ever did sign up, they'd be ready to rock with "do you know x, y and z" because of this.

It's weird seeing the levels of intrusion people are willing to put up with. they got a rap on the knuckles recently because there was a feature that suggested you as a friend to someone if you searched their name. Pretty sure the furore was because there was a spate of rape victims who logged in to find their rapist had searched for their name and was now a 'recommended friend.'

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