It happens every single time you open the app. You’re just trying to check a notification or see what your cousin posted about their new dog, and there it is: a row of faces you haven't seen since high school or, worse, people you’ve actively tried to forget. The "People You May Know" feature is a core part of the Meta ecosystem, designed to keep you tethered to the platform by expanding your social graph. But for many of us, it’s just a digital nuisance. Honestly, it can feel a bit invasive. If you’re looking for a way to block friends suggestions in facebook, you’ve probably realized that Mark Zuckerberg doesn't make it easy. There isn't a single "off" switch that kills the feature forever.
Facebook's algorithm is hungry. It feeds on your contact lists, your location data, and mutual connections to keep suggesting new people. This is technically "growth hacking." By suggesting friends, Facebook increases the likelihood that you'll stay on the site longer. More friends equals more content in your feed, which equals more ad revenue. It's a cycle. But you aren't powerless. While you can't delete the "People You May Know" section from existence—at least not yet—you can certainly muzzle it.
How the Algorithm Actually Finds You
Before we get into the "how-to," you need to understand why these people are showing up. It’s not magic, and it’s usually not a coincidence. Facebook uses a few primary data points. First, mutual friends are the biggest factor. If you have 50 friends in common with someone, the algorithm assumes you're basically besties in real life. Second is contact syncing. If you ever uploaded your phone contacts to "find friends" back in 2014, Facebook still remembers that data.
Then there’s the creepy stuff. Networks like your workplace or school play a role. If you both listed "University of Michigan" and live in the same city, you're going to see each other. There is also the controversial "shadow profile" concept. Even if you don't provide information, if your friend uploads their contacts and you are in them, Facebook links that data to you. It's a web. You're just one node in it.
✨ Don't miss: Why the Apple Store Overland Park Kansas Still Matters in a Digital World
The Strategy to Block Friends Suggestions in Facebook Notifications
If the "People You May Know" notifications are driving you crazy, this is the easiest part to fix. You might not be able to stop the list from appearing in your feed, but you can definitely stop the push notifications and emails.
- Open your Facebook app and tap the three horizontal lines (the "hamburger" menu).
- Hit the gear icon for Settings & Privacy and then tap Settings.
- Scroll down to the Preferences section and select Notifications.
- Find People You May Know. This is the golden ticket.
- Toggle off Allow notifications on Facebook.
You’ll get a scary-looking prompt asking if you’re sure. Say yes. This kills the push notifications, the SMS alerts, and the emails. It's a huge win for your sanity. No more buzzing in your pocket just because a guy you met at a wedding once joined Facebook. It’s worth noting that Meta occasionally resets these settings during major app updates, so if the pings return in six months, you'll need to go back in and check.
Managing Your Uploaded Contacts (The Root Cause)
Most people forget they gave Facebook permission to read their phone's contact list years ago. This is how the app suggests your plumber or your ex’s mom. To truly block friends suggestions in facebook that feel way too personal, you have to cut off the data source.
Go back into your Settings. Look for Media and Contacts or sometimes Upload Contacts. If you see a toggle that says "Continuous Contacts Upload," turn it off immediately. But that’s only half the battle. Facebook already has the data you previously uploaded. You need to go to the "Manage Contacts" page (which is often buried in the Help Center or accessible via the Accounts Center in the Meta dashboard) and click Delete All. This forces the algorithm to stop using your real-world phone book as a suggestion engine. It won't happen instantly. It takes a few days for the system to flush that data out of the active "suggestions" queue.
Why Privacy Settings Matter Here
Your own privacy settings dictate how you show up as a suggestion to others. If you want to disappear from other people's "People You May Know" lists, you need to tighten your "How People Find and Contact You" settings. Set "Who can send you friend requests?" to Friends of Friends instead of Everyone. This significantly reduces your visibility in the algorithm's matchmaking service.
The Browser Hack: Using AdBlockers
If you primarily use Facebook on a desktop or laptop, you have a lot more power. Since the "People You May Know" section is essentially just a block of code on a webpage, you can hide it using a browser extension like uBlock Origin.
You can use the "element picker" tool (the little lightning bolt or dropper icon) to click on the "People You May Know" box on your feed. Once you select it and hit "Create," the extension will remember to hide that specific element every time the page loads. It doesn't "delete" the data on Facebook's servers, but it makes it invisible to you. It’s a cosmetic fix, sure, but a very effective one. Mobile users don't have this luxury because the app is a closed environment, which is a great reason to switch to using Facebook in a mobile browser like Safari or Chrome instead of the dedicated app.
👉 See also: Why We Thank You Elon Musk: The Real Impact Beyond the Headlines
Does "Remove" Actually Work?
You've seen the "X" or the "Remove" button next to a suggested friend. Does clicking it actually teach the algorithm anything? Sort of.
When you click "Remove," you are telling the system that this specific person is not someone you want to connect with. However, the algorithm often interprets this as "Okay, not this person, but how about their brother?" It doesn't stop the suggestions entirely; it just recalibrates them. If you're trying to block friends suggestions in facebook because you want the whole feature gone, clicking "X" is like trying to empty the ocean with a teaspoon. It’s tedious.
A Note on Location Data
There is a long-standing debate—and some denials from Meta—about whether location data triggers friend suggestions. Have you ever stood in line at a coffee shop and then seen the person in front of you appear in your suggestions an hour later? While Facebook has historically denied using GPS data exclusively for this, they do use "Check-ins" and "Events." If you and a stranger both "Check-in" at the same dive bar, the algorithm sees a connection.
To mitigate this:
- Disable "Background Location" for the Facebook app in your phone's system settings.
- Avoid "checking in" to public places.
- Use a VPN if you're feeling particularly spicy about your digital footprint.
Practical Next Steps for a Cleaner Feed
Stop feeding the machine. If you want to see fewer suggestions, you have to be less "social" in the way the algorithm expects.
First, go to your Settings & Privacy and then Accounts Center. Look for your Information and Permissions. This is the new hub for Meta's cross-platform data. Check the "Your activity off Meta technologies" section. Disconnecting this won't just help with friend suggestions; it will stop Facebook from tracking which other websites you visit, which is often how they find "interests" to link you with other people.
🔗 Read more: iPad Pro Wireless Keyboard: Why Most People Buy the Wrong One
Next, do a "Friend List" audit. The more "random" people you have as friends, the more "random" suggestions you'll get. If you have 1,000 friends, your web of potential suggestions is infinite. Shrink your circle, and the algorithm has less material to work with.
Finally, consider the "Nuclear Option" for your mobile device: delete the app and use the mobile website. The mobile site (m.facebook.com) is much more limited in what it can grab from your phone. It can’t see your contacts as easily, it struggles to track your precise location in the background, and the "People You May Know" section is often less prominent or easier to scroll past. It’s a small sacrifice in user interface for a massive gain in privacy.
The reality is that as long as you are using a free service, you are the product. Friend suggestions are just a way to make that product more valuable to advertisers. By following the steps above—killing notifications, deleting uploaded contacts, and tightening your search visibility—you can transform Facebook from an annoying "social matchmaker" back into a simple tool for staying in touch with people you actually like.
Actionable Insights:
- Kill the Pings: Go to Notifications > People You May Know and toggle everything off to stop the constant alerts.
- Purge Data: In Settings, find "Upload Contacts," turn it off, and use the "Manage Contacts" link to delete what's already there.
- Limit Discovery: Change your "Friend Request" privacy to "Friends of Friends" to stop appearing in other people's suggestions.
- Desktop Cleanup: Use uBlock Origin on a PC to manually hide the suggestion UI element from your feed.
- Go App-less: Use the mobile browser version of Facebook to prevent the app from scraping background data like location and contacts.