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How to find a random person on facebook


How to Search on Facebook for a Specific Person

By: Carolyn Abram and

Updated: 11-04-2022

From The Book: Facebook For Dummies

Facebook For Dummies

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The search box at the top of Facebook's site allows you to search for a specific person by name. You can use it to find people you're already friends with and you just want to go to their timelines, or to find people you aren’t friends with yet.

But basic search can be a little confusing because Facebook auto-completes the names that you type and assumes you’re trying to get to your friends’ timelines. If you’re the type of person who is used to pressing the Enter key to begin a search, this can send you to friends’ timelines when you meant to search for someone else named James, for example.

Read on to learn better strategies for finding people on Facebook.

You can also use the search box at the top of the site to find posts, pages, groups, events, and even things your friends have liked.

Two basic ways to use Search in Facebook

You’ll wind up using search two basic ways. The first way is if the name of the person you’re looking for (or at least someone with the same name) appears in the auto-complete menu. You can accomplish that sort of search following these steps:

  1. Begin typing the name you're looking for in the search box.

    Pay attention to the people who appear in the autocomplete menu. Facebook displays first your friends and then friends of friends. There’s a good chance that you may find the person you’re looking for in this menu.

  2. If you see the name in the autocomplete menu, use your mouse or arrow keys to highlight the person you're looking for.

  3. Click the name or press Enter.

    This brings you to the person's timeline, where you can verify that you know the person and add them as a friend.

Use "See More" for a further search

  1. Type the person's full name in the search box.

  2. Click See More at the bottom of the search menu.

    The search menu expands to reveal new options for search. So, if you type Jane Smith and then click See More, you can now either search People Named Jane Smith, Pages Named Jane Smith, or Places Named Jane Smith.

  3. Click the People Named ’s> option.

    A blue friend icon is next to this option. A search results page appears with larger previews of people’s profile pictures and timeline info. The right side of the page also has options for narrowing your search using fields such as Gender, Employer, Current City, and so on.

  4. Use the fields on the right side of the page to zero in on your actual friend.

    This might be information like where your friend works or where they're from.

  5. When you find the person you’re looking for, add them as a friend.

About This Article

This article is from the book:

  • Facebook For Dummies ,

About the book authors:

Carolyn Abram was a Facebook employee when the site was young. Her work explaining how to use Facebook began then and has continued ever since. She is also a fiction writer.

Amy Karasavas is a former Facebook employee who helped launch app directories, developers’ resources, and user testing tools. She currently works as a sommelier.

Carolyn Abram was a Facebook employee when the site was young. Her work explaining how to use Facebook began then and has continued ever since. She is also a fiction writer.

Amy Karasavas is a former Facebook employee who helped launch app directories, developers’ resources, and user testing tools. She currently works as a sommelier.

This article can be found in the category:

  • Facebook ,

Why Can't I Send a Friend Request on Facebook? Resolved!

Trying to send a friend request on Facebook?

It’s one of Facebook’s key features.

And now you want to add someone to your list of connections. But something happens and you can’t!

There are a few reasons why you can’t send a friend request to someone on Facebook.

And a few possible issues that are out of your control.

Let’s look and see if we can solve the problem!

How to Send and Cancel a Friend Request on Facebook

The process to add someone on Facebook hasn’t changed much.

You can search for them by name, as with most social media platforms. If they have a public profile, you’ll be able to find them this way.

You may also see them if they have a ‘friend of friend’ setting, and you have a mutual friend.

If you do, you can go to that mutual friend’s profile and scroll through their Friends tab until you find the person you want to add.

From here, you can just select the ‘add friend’ button and they will receive a standard Facebook friend request.

If you suddenly realize it’s the wrong person, go to their profile.

The ‘add friend’ button will now become a ‘cancel request’ button you can click, and the request will vanish.

Why is there no add friend button on some Facebook profiles?

Occasionally, you will see a profile where there is no ‘add friend’ button.

That’s because they have their privacy settings in a way that anyone who doesn’t have an existing connection can’t send them a friend request.

If this is the case, you might have to accept you can’t add them as a friend.

Why can’t I add someone on Facebook, only follow?

Another situation you might encounter is the option to follow someone but not send a friend request.

Again, this is a privacy settings choice the person has made. It allows people to follow them but not to send a friend request.

So, you can follow them to see the updates they allow followers, but that’s all.

With each post they make, they can choose if the want it seen by only friends, or an even more selective audience.

Why Can’t I Add Someone on Facebook?

Now we know a few of the basics of adding, or not being able to add, someone on Facebook, let’s look at the most common problems.

These sometimes come from your profile, but sometimes from the person you are trying to send the request to.

That means there isn’t always a lot you can do about it.

Their privacy settings mean you can’t see their account

Privacy settings is something Facebook spends a lot more time highlighting to users these days. This means that people are more likely to change their settings to tighten privacy.

If someone has their account set to ‘friends of friends’ and you don’t have a mutual friend, you won’t be able to send them a request.

You can still try to send them a Messenger message, but this will go into the ‘message request’ section. Then it depends on how often they check this for them to see the request!

They have blocked you on Facebook

Another common reason for not being able to add someone on Facebook is if they’ve blocked you.

There are loads of reasons they can do this. It may be an accident, or intentional.

However, if they’ve blocked you, you can’t see their profile or any public content.

You also won’t be able to message them.

Have you blocked them?

If the person is someone you’ve had contact with before, you may have blocked them. The result is similar to them blocking you.

But you can check for this.

Just go to your Settings then Privacy > Blocking.

Here you’ll see a list of the people you’ve blocked on Facebook. If the person you want to add is there, you can unblock them and then send the request.

Their account has been deactivated

If someone has deactivated their account but not deleted it, you can’t send a friend request. But you can still see them on Facebook.

Unless they’ve scheduled the account to be deleted, at which point it will vanish.

While it’s deactivated, you can still send a Messenger message.

Has Facebook restricted their account?

If someone ends up in ‘Facebook jail’ for various reasons, they won’t show up for you to send a request.

Most of the time, people are restricted from using Facebook for a set period. It might a day, a week, or a month. So it can be worth checking back later to see if they reappear.

Sometimes you still have the option to send them a Messenger message, depending on how much trouble they are in!

They have the maximum number of friends

It seems weird with billions of users, but there is a cap on the number of friends you can have on Facebook.

Currently, there’s a limit of 5,000 friends. If you try to add someone that has this number, you won’t be able to.

But you can still go down the Messenger contact route. If they want to add you, they can unfriend someone else.

Have you sent a lot of friend requests in a short time?

It can be fun to find new people to connect with. Sometimes we get a bit excited and send a whole bunch of friend requests in a short time.

But that can also look a bit like bot behavior and make Facebook suspicious! It may then limit your ability to add someone for a while.

You should get a notification if this happens, so you’ll know when you’ll be able to add friends again.

Then just add them a little slower next time!

Have you already sent a request?

If you have sent a request and the person hasn’t actioned it, then you won’t be able to send another.

Maybe it’s been a while since you sent the request, and it’s become lost among other notifications.

While you can’t send another, you can send a Messenger message.

They have denied your friend request

Sadly, if you send a friend request and the person declines it, you won’t be able to send another one.

However, if it was done by mistake and you reach out to them, they could send you a friend request instead. Once again, try Messenger.

Sometimes it’s a Facebook glitch

Occasionally, the problem is something as random as a glitch on Facebook. A ‘Facebug.’

You can always try again later.

Check that your app doesn’t need any updates, and see if there are any notifications about problems.

If the problem persists, you can always get in touch with Facebook support for more help.

You might also enjoy: How to Find a Facebook Account by Phone Number.

6 Solutions to “You may not know this person”

UPDATE: Here’s a new glitch that has been reported by several readers. You try to send a friend request, and this error message pops up:

It looks like you may not know this person. Send requests to people you know personally to see their updates on Facebook.

I found that a few years ago, some people got a similar error:

Only add people who you know
Please only send friend requests to people who you know personally. If you think you’re seeing this by mistake, please let us know.

A possible reason is that Facebook is trying to improve their security and the privacy of accounts. But it seems like a strange way to go about it. Facebook usually loves for users to add friends – I’ve recently gotten suggestions from FB to add people I don’t know at all!

But if you just created a new account, beware. If people ignore your friend requests or report them as unwanted, your account may be flagged as violating community standards. Be sure to start by only adding people you know, who would want to be your Facebook friend!

Here Are the Solutions to “Only add people you know personally”

1 | Make sure you’re using your real name, and your own photo as your Facebook profile picture.

2 | Slow down! If you’ve sent a bunch of requests before getting the error message, take a break for at least 24 hours. Then…

3 | Sync the contacts from your phone:

  • Go into the Settings in the mobile app.
  • Scroll down to Permissions and tap Upload Contacts.
  • Tap Learn More for additional info.
  • Turn on Upload Contacts, if you decide to.

This might help FB recognize who you do know when sending friend requests!

4 | Text the potential FB friend and ask them to send you a friend request.

5 | In person ask: this is guaranteed to work, if they agree to it.

  • The next time you see them at school, work, or wherever you know them from, ask if you can friend them on FB.
  • Ask if they have a minute right then so you can “help them find you.”
  • Have them open the FB app and prompt them on how to find your profile.
  • Then accept their request right away! Problem solved.

6 | New account? Once you start building a few friends, only send requests to people you know in common. That is, FB friends of your new Facebook friends. This should help Facebook trust your new account.

Please enlighten the community if you know more! Leave a comment below.

Adding someone on Facebook

Adding someone to Facebook is a natural part of using the platform. But there are times when things just won’t work as they should.

Use these tips and ideas to help you troubleshoot the problem.

And know there will be some times when you just can’t send a friend request – but you could contact them off FB and ask them to add you.

Next, check out How to See More Friends Posts on Facebook.

How to find a person on Facebook

Magazine ProfiComment welcomes you! Last time we talked about how to find out who viewed your Facebook page.

Today you will learn how to find a person in this social network in different ways. Facebook* is the world's leading social network used by people in different countries. This is very convenient, because there is only one social network, and you can find almost any person. Agree, amazing technological progress! nine0005

However, for the safety of each person, his privacy, on Facebook you can only find someone about whom you know enough information. Let's look at how this can be done.

How to find a person by city on Facebook

With a standard attempt to find a person by city, you will encounter difficulty. You will get here as shown in the pictures. First, you probably do this, enter the name of the person in the search box on the main page:

Fig 1. This method is incorrect if you want to find a person on Facebook by the city

and, after going to the page with people search, in the end, you find that there is no way to find a person in the city:

Fig 2 N this page does not have advanced settings for searching for the right person

Therefore, you need to do it as follows. On the right at the top of the page there is a symbol friends :

Fig 3. To find a person in the city, you must click on this icon

Click this icon once and you will see a list of friends who want to join you or have already added. In this pop-up window you should see the link "Find Friends":

Fig 4. By clicking on this link you will be taken to the search for people page with advanced settings find a person by characteristic « Hometown "and" City of residence ":

Fig 5. Now you are in the right place, it remains to enter the necessary data

You can also find advanced search in the same pop-up window of friends below , just click on the link " View all "

Fig 6. Also, advanced search settings are located on this link

The Facebook social network is more complicated than VKontakte, however, this site provides much more opportunities to search for a person. For example:

How to identify a person on Facebook by phone number

Here, in general, everything is much easier than you think, in order to find any person by phone number, you just need to enter the number in the search field and, without having time to click on the magnifying glass icon, you are already you can see a hint with the page of the person you are looking for:

Fig 7. To find a person by phone number, just enter the desired number in the search box

Remember that you can also be found on Facebook by your phone number. If you do not need it, then you need to make the appropriate settings. In the upper right corner of your page, click on the arrow icon as shown in the figure to expand the window with functions. Here, find the link "Settings" and follow it:

Fig. 8. Facebook security settings are located here

Once on the settings page, you need to go to the “Privacy” tab and follow the path of the arrows, as shown in the figure. At the end of the path, choose the option that suits you best. That is, your friends or friends of friends will be able to find you:

Pic 9. Set up your privacy as shown in the picture

How to find a person on Facebook by photo

In order to find a person on Facebook, you need to correctly use the search on Google images. Even if you copy a photo of a person from a social network, or you just have photos, then you don’t need the whole person in the photo, but is his face . If you have a photograph where a person is in full growth or just a portrait where the whole head and body are visible to the waist, then these are inappropriate photographs. You need to take a photo, as shown in the picture:

Fig 10. How to properly prepare a photo for searching a person on Facebook

After you prepare the photo, go to the link above to get to the Google image search service and upload an image to search by clicking on the camera icon.

How to find a person on Facebook* by email

It's very simple. You need to click on the friends icon, as shown in the picture and follow the link " Find friends ":

Fig 11. Open the tab with the hint "Friends"

Next:

Fig. 12. Click on the link "Find friends"

After that, you will see such a page where you need to enter your friend's email address where shown in the picture and click " Find friends ":

Fig 13. Now enter the email address of the person you are looking for here

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*Organization banned in Russia

How to find people on Facebook. How site search works

This article will discuss how to use Facebook search and how to search for people on Facebook.

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First, let's figure out what this social network is for, and how the Facebook search engine works. Currently, it is the largest social network that covers a large number of people from all over the world who are united by common interests. nine0005

The main attribute of any "Social Network" , of course, "search" - search, if someone does not know. Without him, you must admit, it would be problematic to find a person on Facebook, or any community that he needs that satisfies his preferences.

After all, the specifics will not hurt here, we begin to discover the search on Facebook.

Step 1

Our first action is to log in to Facebook, more precisely, to your account.

Enter your username and password, click "Login". Upon successful login, the following page should be displayed:

In the screenshot above, you can see that what is under the arrow is the actual Facebook search. Below you will learn in more detail how to use it, and how to search for people on Facebook.

To find the information we need, we resort to a search, Facebook helps us with this, or rather, to find a group, an acquaintance whom we have not seen for a long time, or a friend.

Step 2

Let's say you've been wanting to find a particular band related to music for a long time. Let's take an example of how to do this. nine0155
Suppose it is classical music . We type this query into the Facebook search bar and click on the magnifying glass icon. You should see all groups with the same name.

Choose the one you like, according to this request, and rejoice. The first results shown are the groups or pages with the most likes and followers.

Step 3

Some people wonder how to find a person through a social network? Here everything is the same as with the search for groups. You also use the search bar, which helps to search for people, Facebook gives us information on our request. nine0005