Facebook recommended that this psychiatrist’s patients friend each other

[parsley]

Facebook’s ability to figure out the “people we might know” is sometimes eerie. Many a Facebook user has been creeped out when a one-time Tinder date or an ex-boss from 10 years ago suddenly pops up as a friend recommendation. How does the big blue giant know?

While some of these incredibly accurate friend suggestions are amusing, others are alarming, such as this story from Lisa*, a psychiatrist who is an infrequent Facebook user, mostly signing in to RSVP for events. Last summer, she noticed that the social network had started recommending her patients as friends—and she had no idea why.

When Lisa looked at her Facebook profile, she was surprised to see that she had, at some point, given Facebook her cell phone number. It’s a number that her patients could also have in their phones. Many people don’t realize that if they give Facebook access to their phone contacts, it uses that information to make friend recommendations; so if your ex-boss or your one-time Tinder date or your psychiatrist is a contact in your phone, you might start seeing them pop up in the “People You May Know” list.

[url]http://fusion.net/story/339018/facebook-psychiatrist-privacy-problems/[/url]

[highlight](User was permabanned for this post ("alt of perma'd user" - Orkel))[/highlight]

[BlackMageMari]

Well.

That's creepy as all hell. Think I might need to get rid of that now.

[Fourier]

Doh, what else do they need phone number for?

[Zolofto]

Whatdo you expect from Facebook when you put in your personal information. Don't need to mine it if you freely give it away and install their application. I don't give two craps what tutorial you read on basic security practices and you know how to open up a VPN client.

They act like "whoa how dare Facebook!" when they've been using your data for some sort of algorithm for a while.

[parsley]

[QUOTE=BlackMageMari;50973792]Well.

That's creepy as all hell. Think I might need to get rid of that now.[/QUOTE]

The best part is that its possible to sign up for facebook without an email address and by only having a mobile phone number thereby allowing facebook to access the several billion people who do not have and will likely never have an email account. So in all of those third world countries where mobile access is outpacing the spread of reliable potable water supplies, sanitation or even electricity, facebook is going to end up being a central part of the lives of a lot of people who until 12-24 months ago had barely even used a phone during their lives.

And people still sometimes say that the purchase of WhatsApp by Facebook was a 'mistake' at 20 billion dollars. No one ever paid so little for access to so much.
"by connecting your phone number with Facebook's systems, Facebook can offer better friend suggestions and show you more relevant ads if you have an account with them."

Facebook essentially has access to ~20% of the world's relationships and information.

[AntonioR]

Not really surprising. If they suggest friends from you email account you used to login, why wouldn't they use the phone number as well ?

[SquidsEye]

I thought it was going to be some weird, invasive algorithm but phone contacts are probably the most common way to get recommended friends on anything with an app.

[.𓃉𓁿𓂎𓁿𓃉.]

iirc if you are seen visiting a place frequently facebook will suggest you people who also visit the same place frequently.

[SquidsEye]

[QUOTE=Ninja Gnome;50974095]iirc if you are seen visiting a place frequently facebook will suggest you people who also visit the same place frequently.[/QUOTE]

I find it kind of weird that google guesses your workplace based on GPS.

[RobL]

I've had users from internet forums show up in my recommended friends. Weird indeed.

[rndgenerator]

[QUOTE=RobL;50974399]I've had users from internet forums show up in my recommended friends. Weird indeed.[/QUOTE]
They use IP tracking too. If a website uses "Like/Share" button or such, they're used as tracking objects. Not sure but I suspect so are embedded images from fbcdn

[mutant]

I stumbled across this when my tinder contacts started appearing in my suggested friends list.
I originally assumed they were showing up because they were stalking my profile 24/7 as I am a prize catch but the reason turned out to be way more mundane.

Ended up turning off being able to search for me via mobile as it was kind of weird.

[Provost]

[QUOTE=Ninja Gnome;50974095]iirc if you are seen visiting a place frequently facebook will suggest you people who also visit the same place frequently.[/QUOTE]

I work at a county court-house. :worried:

[Rainboo]

Uh isn't that kinda normal? I don't see anything creepy about it. It's just a friend recommendation, none of your personal information is leaking out there. I think some of you guys are overly exaggerating here.

Also use different stuff for facebook and tinder/other stuff if you want to keep those things separate lol