Tell me more ×
Web Applications Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for power users of web applications. It's 100% free, no registration required.
up vote 5 down vote favorite

My Facebook friends list is private, because there are some people I don't want to show I am friend with.

A while ago I created a Bob account for testing purposes and added Bob as a friend.
PROBLEM: Every week or so, Bob's email adress receives such an email:

Do you know Deng Yaping, Liu Guoliang and 8 others?
People You May Know
Add the people you know to see their photos and updates.

Deng Yaping
Tibet University

[... 9 more names, with their networks and link to their profiles ...]

That defeats the purpose of having my friends list private.
Is it a bug that affects only me? Or is it a known issue?

Is there a solution, or should I just refrain from using Facebook?

Note: I am aware that Bob can see the friends with whom I have any post/like/comment/tag activity, I am more concerned about some friends with whom I only exchange private messages.

share|improve this question
Is there any indication that the people are friends with the real you? And are the only people it suggests your friends? – ChrisF♦ Sep 15 '12 at 11:40
@ChrisF: Yes, all 10 suggested people are friends with real me. Every time. – Nicolas Raoul Sep 17 '12 at 8:04
I thought that the people were your friends, but it's always worth double checking these things. – ChrisF♦ Sep 17 '12 at 8:06
TBH if you are really concerned with privacy, should you really be using Facebook, which is an almost open repository for private information? (Granted, privacy and security options have improved over the past few years, but still...) – Crollster Oct 18 '12 at 1:10

3 Answers

up vote 3 down vote accepted

I should note that if someone adds JUST him and gets these emails. Much like he set up the "Bob" account. They would only receive emails about friends on HIS account. Since he'd be their only friend it would be rather obvious wouldn't it? I'd say it's a problem with facebook's privacy for sure.

share|improve this answer
up vote 1 down vote

In fairness, I don't think that Facebook is revealing that these are your friends. You happen to know that they are friends with you, but no one else getting that email will know that the people being suggested to them are your friends.

The only way someone could know that for sure was if you were there one and only friend on Facebook. If that is the guess my bet is that they wont want to upset you by challenging you on the company you keep.

share|improve this answer
up vote 0 down vote

I would expect that all this is automated by Facebook and follows something like the following logic:

  1. "Bob" is friends with you.
  2. Deng Yaping, Liu Guoliang etc. are also friends with you.
  3. Therefore there is a high probability that "Bob" also knows Deng Yaping, Liu Guoliang etc.

Facebook is just doing what it's designed to do - find connections to new people. Now in this case you know something that Facebook doesn't - that "Bob" isn't real and therefore doesn't know anyone else.

It's unlikely that Facebook will ever change things to cater for "secret friends" as their whole business model is built on people connecting with each other.

share|improve this answer
3  
I think you might be missing the point. The point is not that Bob isn't a real person - it is in fact that Bob should never be told about Deng Yaping, et al, based on friendship with the OP, since the OPs friends list is marked Private and thus should be off-limits for this kind of thing. – Crollster Oct 17 '12 at 9:26
@Crollster - Perhaps it should be off-limits, but it appears that Facebook is ignoring this. – ChrisF♦ Oct 17 '12 at 9:30
As ChrisF said Facebook is clearly ignoring this, but this is not the first time that someone has come along to question the way that Facebook handles privacy options. Most questions usually end up being that Facebook tends to use the theory of anything you post, add, or use on their site is free to use any way they wish. This is certainly one of Facebook's biggest and most debated issues. One thing to keep in mind is that the email they send to all the other "Bobs" that friend you is that they never say were exactly they got the list of potential friends. LinkedIn also does this as well. – Bradley A. Tetreault Oct 17 '12 at 11:43

Your Answer

 
discard

By posting your answer, you agree to the privacy policy and terms of service.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.