Facebook shows you friend suggestions based on your activity, mutual connections, and contact information

Facebook's friend suggestion feature pulls from several sources: people who share your email or phone number, contacts you've uploaded, mutual friends, people in groups you join, and accounts that visit your profile. The algorithm also considers your browsing history and search patterns. You cannot turn off suggestions entirely, but you can prevent Facebook from using specific data sources and hide suggestions from individual people.

The most direct control is hiding suggestions from particular accounts. You can also limit what information Facebook uses to generate suggestions — particularly your phone number, email, and contact uploads. Each setting lives in a different place in Facebook's menu, so knowing where to look saves time.

Key Takeaways

  • You can hide friend suggestions from specific people by visiting their profile and selecting "Remove from suggestions," though this option only appears after Facebook has suggested them.
  • Uploading contacts to Facebook is one of the largest sources of suggestions; removing your contact list from Facebook stops many suggestions based on your phone or email.
  • Turning off "People You May Know" notifications in your notification settings reduces how often you see suggestions, but does not stop Facebook from generating them.
  • Clearing your search history and limiting app permissions prevents Facebook from using your browsing and location data to build suggestion lists.

Hide suggestions from a specific person

When Facebook suggests someone you do not want to connect with, you can remove that person from your suggestions. Open their profile, tap the three dots in the top right corner (on mobile) or hover over their name (on desktop), and select "Remove from suggestions." This prevents that specific account from appearing in your "People You May Know" section.

This method works one person at a time, so it is most useful when you want to block suggestions from a handful of accounts rather than overhauling your entire settings. The person you remove will not be notified, and they can still search for you or send you a friend request through other means.

Stop Facebook from using your contact list

One of the largest sources of friend suggestions is your phone's contact list. If you uploaded your contacts to Facebook at any point — either during account setup or through the app's "Find Friends" feature — Facebook continues to use that data to suggest people. Removing your contacts stops this source of suggestions.

On mobile, go to Settings & Privacy, then Settings, then Personal Information, then Contacts. Tap "Upload Contacts" and select "Remove Contacts." On desktop, click the menu icon in the top right, go to Settings & Privacy, then Settings, then Personal Information, then Contacts, and click "Remove Contacts." After removal, Facebook will no longer match your phone contacts to accounts.

Turn off "People You May Know" notifications

Facebook sends notifications when it has new suggestions for you. Disabling these notifications does not stop Facebook from generating suggestions, but it stops the reminders from appearing in your notification center. Go to Settings & Privacy, then Settings, then Notifications, then find "People You May Know" and toggle it off.

You will still see suggestions when you visit the "People You May Know" section on your profile or in the Friends tab, but you will not receive alerts about new suggestions. This is useful if you want to check suggestions on your own schedule rather than being prompted.

Remove your phone number and email from suggestion sources

Facebook uses your phone number and email address to match you with people who have your contact information. If someone uploads their contacts and your number or email is in their list, Facebook may suggest you to them. You can make your phone and email harder to find by adjusting your privacy settings.

Go to Settings & Privacy, then Settings, then Privacy, then look for "Who can look you up using the phone number you provided?" and "Who can look you up using the email address you provided?" Change both to "Only Me" or "Friends." This prevents strangers from finding you through contact uploads, which reduces the number of suggestions you receive from people you do not know.

Clear your search history

Facebook tracks what you search for on the platform and uses that data to generate suggestions. If you frequently search for accounts in a particular field or location, Facebook may suggest similar accounts. Clearing your search history removes this data source.

On mobile, tap the menu icon, go to Settings & Privacy, then Settings, then Your Information, then Search History, and tap "Clear Searches." On desktop, click the menu icon, go to Settings & Privacy, then Settings, then Your Information, then Search History, and click "Clear All." After clearing, Facebook will not use your past searches to build suggestions, though it will start tracking new searches when ready.

Limit app and website permissions

Facebook collects data from apps and websites you visit when you are logged in or when those sites have Facebook tracking code. This browsing history feeds into the suggestion algorithm. You can see which apps and websites have access to your data and revoke permission from individual ones.

Go to Settings & Privacy, then Settings, then Apps and Websites. Review the list under "Active" and remove apps or websites you no longer use or do not want Facebook tracking. Removing permissions does not delete past data, but it stops Facebook from collecting new information from those sources going forward.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I completely turn off friend suggestions?

No. Facebook does not offer a setting to disable suggestions entirely. You can reduce how often you see them and prevent suggestions from specific sources, but the feature cannot be fully turned off. Hiding individual suggestions and adjusting privacy settings are your main options.

Will someone know if I remove them from my suggestions?

No. The person will not receive a notification or any indication that you removed them from your suggestions. They can still find you through search or send you a friend request directly.

Does blocking someone stop them from appearing in suggestions?

Yes. When you block someone, they cannot appear in your suggestions, and you will not appear in theirs. Blocking is more permanent than removing from suggestions — a blocked person cannot send you a friend request or message you.

Why do I keep getting suggestions from the same person?

If you removed someone from suggestions but they keep reappearing, Facebook is likely regenerating the suggestion from a different data source — perhaps a mutual friend, a group you both joined, or contact information. Try adjusting your privacy settings for phone number and email lookup, or block the person if the suggestions are unwanted.

Does Facebook use my location to suggest friends?

Yes, if you have location services enabled. Facebook can use your location history to suggest people nearby. You can limit this by going to Settings & Privacy, then Settings, then Location, and changing your location settings to "Only Me" or turning off location access entirely in your phone's app permissions.