It is the Facebook algorithm that intelligently finds people to show as suggested friends on their feed. There are various criteria that the algorithm takes into account before displaying the list of people as suggested friends.
Now you might wonder if it is possible to appear on someone’s suggested friend list on Facebook. Well, there is no way to do so, but there are little hacks that let your profile feature on a person’s suggested friends list on Facebook.
To appear in someone’s suggested friends on Facebook, you and the other accounts need to have a good number of mutual friends, same area of interest, like the same pages and are part of the same group. Syncing your contacts will help too.
Is It Possible To Appear In Someone’s Suggested Friends On Facebook?
The short answer is yes; you can appear on anyone’s suggested friends on Facebook. But since there is no direct option to do so, things will be a little bit complicated.
As mentioned earlier, the Facebook algorithm finds and shows people on the suggested friend’s list. The algorithm only picks accounts that have similar interest, has a similar background, are from the same place, etc.
Facebook has a lot of data about you, including your location, the university you went to, your workplace, your interest, the groups you are part of, the pages you liked, the accounts you follow, and more.
Since Facebook knows everything about every account, they use this data to prepare and show suggested friends lists.
The suggested friend’s list on Facebook is not fixed. It gets periodically updated whenever a new profile that matches yours are found.
How Does The Algorithm Pick Profiles To Show?
Facebook’s algorithm analyzes accounts matching similar criteria and suggests each other on the suggested friend’s tab. You’ll be able to find the suggested friends list both on the Facebook app as well as the web version.
Below are some known factors that the Facebook algorithm considers to show your profile in someone’s suggested friends on Facebook.
- Location: This is one of the crucial factors that the Facebook algorithm uses to show your profile in someone’s suggested friends on Facebook. If you are from the exact location as the other person, chances are high for Facebook to show your profile.
- Same Area Of Interest: Facebook tends to show people with similar areas of interest to the other person.
- Work History: If you and another person have worked in the same company or place, then chances are high for the algorithm to suggest you.
- Mutual Friends: The higher the number of mutual friends you have, the higher the chance you will be shown in the suggested friends list on Facebook.
These are some of the many factors that are used in determining who to show in someone’s suggested friends on Facebook.
How To Appear In Someone’s Suggested Friends On Facebook
Go through some tips to feature your account on other persons’ suggested friends on Facebook.
It’s not guaranteed that you will appear for sure, but below are everything that is in our capacity to increase the likelihood of appearing on suggested friends on Facebook.
Mutual Friends
The number of mutual friends is one of many vital factors in deciding who to show in the suggested friend’s tab on Facebook.
The more the number of mutual friends you and the other person have, the higher is the chance for you to appear in the suggested friend’s tab on Facebook.
Let’s say, for example, you and the other person have about 50+ mutual friends. This is a strong indication that you and the other person are in a close circle. Facebook uses this data to show you in the suggested feed.
If you go through the suggested friend’s list on your Facebook account, you will notice that all the profiles listed there will have many mutual friends.
So, you should ensure you and the other person have a good number of mutual friends for Facebook to add your account to the suggested friends list automatically.
Send friend requests to Facebook friends of the other person to increase the number of mutual friends you both have. This drastically increases the chances of your profile featuring in the suggested friend’s tab. After a few days, go through the list of sent friend requests and delete those who have not accepted them yet.
Location
The location is the second important factor in determining who to show in the suggested friend’s tab on Facebook. It’s a no-brainer that people from the same area have higher chances to know each other.
Facebook suggests people in close proximity.
How will you let Facebook know you are from a particular location?
You need to add your current location to your Facebook profile. Follow the steps below to see how.
- Login to your Facebook account and visit your profile
- Click the Edit Profile button
- Click the Edit button next to Customize your intro section
- Scroll down and find Current City.
- Click the pencil icon to add your location. Make sure to add the location as the other person has added.
- Once added, ensure you enable the toggle.
- Click Save
Same Workplace or College
People working in the same place or studying in the same university have a higher chance of knowing each other. Facebook takes into account this data to show the suggested friends list.
So adding your work history or university/college information to your Facebook profile will increase the likelihood of your profile getting featured in the suggested friend’s list on the other person’s Facebook account.
Follow the steps below to add your educational or work information:
- Login to your Facebook account and visit your profile
- Click the Edit Profile button
- Click the Edit button next to Customize your intro section
- Click the Add Workplace option under Work
- Enter the company name, position, city or town, and description. Click Save
Similarly, click Add high school or Add college option under Education and add details regarding your institution as well.
Update Your Facebook Profile
You should always keep your Facebook profile up-to-date with the latest information. Use your latest picture as the Facebook profile picture, add current location information, workplace, and education institution, etc.
Facebook uses the data from your profile to find people with a common element to suggest in the suggested friend’s list.
Follow the steps below to update your Facebook profile to include the latest information.
- Login to your Facebook account and visit your profile
- Go to the About section
- Under About, you’ll find different sections like Overview, Work and education, Placed lived, Contact and basic info, Family and relationships, Details about you, and Life events
- Go through each one of the sections and add new pieces of information.
- Your current location, the company you are working in, your high school, your college, the places you have lived, your interest, and your intro are things you should fill.
You may even go an extra mile ahead and add your profile information similar to that of the other account where you want to get featured on the list. Having a similar location, interest, hometown, workplace, educational institution, and the background will help you appear in the suggested friend list on Facebook very easily.
When everything is done, you may head back to your Facebook profile settings and change everything back, and you are good to go.
Sync Contact To Facebook
Do you have the contact number of the other person saved on your smartphone? If yes, this method is for you.
Facebook uses the contacts saved on your smartphone to find people you may know. Facebook uses this data to show people in the suggested friend’s list.
Facebook has an option where it allows people to sync their contacts on their smartphones. This way, the Facebook algorithm will know who is in your contacts and show you on the suggested friend’s list on the Facebook account linked to that number.
If you have not enabled automatic contact syncing on Facebook yet, follow the steps below:
Open the Facebook app on your smartphone
Tap on your profile icon
Tap on the settings icon from the top left corner
Tap on Profile Settings
Scroll down and tap on Upload Contacts under Media and contacts
Enable the toggle to sync your contacts with Facebook automatically
Facebook uses contacts differently to suggest people in the recommended friends tab. Some of them are:
- You have saved the contact of the other person
- The other person has saved your contact in their phone
- A third person has both of your contact synced to their Facebook account
Have Been To The Same Places
If you and the other person are traveling to the same place frequently, then it is a strong point for Facebook to suggest each other in the suggested friend’s tab.
But how will Facebook you know where have you been to? Well, if the location sharing setting is turned on. Facebook will know the places you have been to.
Similarly, you can also add the places you visited to your profile as well.
Similar places and activities on your profile will increase your chances of being in the suggested friend’s tab on the feed.
Be Members Of Similar Groups and Like Pages
Similar interest is one key thing the Facebook algorithm checks when suggesting profiles on the suggested friend’s list. There are several ways in which Facebook decides the interest of a particular profile. This includes:
- Facebook Search
- Liked pages
- Group
If you and the other person are very active in groups with similar interests, then chances are there that the Facebook algorithm will show your profile in the suggested feed.
Apart from groups, liking the same pages and following the same account also increases the likelihood of getting featured in the suggested friend’s section of Facebook.
Check Profile Privacy Settings
Facebook has a lot of different privacy settings to choose from. You should ensure your profile is public so other people can find it by searching. Furthermore, Facebook allows you to decide who can send you a friend request or see your friends list.
You should make both the settings mentioned above public and everyone. This way, other people will be able to find your profile and, in turn, send you a friend request.
Follow the steps below to change your profile privacy settings.
- Open the Facebook app or website
- Tap on the profile icon
- Tap the cog icon to open Settings
- Select Profile Settings
- Tap Privacy under Privacy
- Select Who can send you friend requests? option and set it to Everyone
- Select Who can see your friends list? and set it to Public
- Save settings
These two options will ensure that everyone on Facebook can discover your account and send you a friend request. This will help you get featured in Facebook’s suggested friend’s list.
If the Who can send you friend requests? option is not set to Everyone, then Facebook won’t be able to suggest your account in the suggested friend’s tab.
Also keep your Facebook posts sharable.
Conclusion
Getting into a person’s suggested friends list on Facebook is not an easy task. As you might have already understood, no option let us do the same directly. It can’t be done with the click of a button.
But there are certain nifty little tricks that we can employ to make the Facebook algorithm suggest our profile under the suggested friend’s list.
Many people have succeeded in getting featured in the suggested friend’s list of a particular account by increasing the mutual friends count. It is one of the key metrics that you should keep an eye on. The higher the number of mutual friends with the account, the higher the chances that it will be featured in the suggested friends list on Facebook.
I hope you found the guide helpful to Appear in Someone’s Suggested Friends on Facebook.
