How to Get Mutual Friends on Facebook

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Last Updated: September 15, 2024 Fact Checked

In Facebook, "mutual friends" is a term that refers to a friend that you and another user have in common. "Mutual friend" is not a label that can be applied by you to anyone else. It is simply a way to inform you that you share friends with someone else. You can turn mutual friends into your Facebook friends by using the "People You May Know" tool. For some people, you'll need to share at least one mutual friend with them in order to send a friend request.

Finding and Adding Mutual Friends on FB

A mutual friend is someone who you and another Facebook user are both friends with. To add mutual friends, go to a user’s profile and click the “Friends” tab on their profile. Send friend requests to any users you know in their “Friends” list. Then, add the user.

Part 1

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Adding Mutual Friends

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When you visit a stranger's Facebook profile, you may notice that the "Add Friend" button is missing. This is because that person has set their security settings so that they only receive friend requests from people who share at least one mutual friend. You'll need to be friends with at least one person on this person's friends list before you can send a friend request.^{[1]
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Many people have their friends list public, allowing you to send friend requests to people on their friends list.^{[2]
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Find people to add. You'll see a list of all the person's friends (if their list is public).^{[3]
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- If the "Friends" tab does not display any friends, you'll have to hope that you eventually make some mutual friends with this person. Look for posts that they comment on and send friend requests to the original poster.
Once at least one accepts, you'll be able to send a friend request to the original person.
When you view a friend's friend list, you'll see all of your mutual friends at the top. After you scroll through your mutual friends, you'll see people that have mutual friends with you, sorted by the number of mutual friends you both have. You'll be able to send friend requests to any of these people by tapping or clicking "Add Friend."

Part 2

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Using the "People You May Know" List

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1
Open the Facebook app. Log in with your Facebook account if you aren't already logged in.^{[4]
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- You can also log into the Facebook website. Enter your email and password to log in.^{[5]
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Add all of your real life friends. The more people that you add to Facebook, the more people will show up in the "People You May Know" list based on mutual friends:
- Open their profile page by searching for their name, email address, or phone number at the top of the app or website.
- Tap or click the "Add Friend" button on their profile page. When they accept your friend request, they will be added to your friends list.
- If the "Add Friend" button is not available, you'll need to have at least one mutual friend with that person. Keep adding other people and you're bound to get a mutual friend soon.
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Open the "People You May Know" list. This list shows people that you share a mutual friend with, according to Facebook's Artificial Intelligence program. You'll see the number of mutual friends you have with that person below their name. For example, if it says "15 mutual friends," there are 15 people on your friends list who are friends with that person as well.^{[6]
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- Android - Tap the Friends button at the top of the screen, then scroll down to the "People You May Know" section.
- iPhone - Tap the Friends button at the bottom of the screen, then scroll down to the "People You May Know" section.
- Desktop - Click the Friends button in the top blue bar on the Facebook page and select "See All." Scroll down through the list of people Facebook thinks you may know based on your mutual friends.
This will send that person a friend request. If they accept, they'll be added to your friends list, and your "People You May Know" list will expand.
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View the mutual friends you share with someone. You can view the mutual friends you and another person share.
- Open the person's profile page. This works best if you're already friends with the person, as their friends list won't be hidden.^{[7]
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- Tap or click the "Friends" tab to open their friends list.
- Tap or click the "Mutual" tab to view the friends you share with this person.

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Question

If people are my friends, how are they made mutual friends?

Community Answer

A mutual friend means that you share the same friend with another person. For example, say you are friends with Bob and Sally, and Bob and Sally are also friends with each other. When you look on either Bob or Sally's profile, you will see that the other friend will be a mutual friend, because you both have the same friend.

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How I remove my mutual friends from Facebook?

Community Answer

You can't remove someone from Facebook, but you can always unfriend them. See How to Unfriend on Facebook.

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What can I do if I am not getting any responses?

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Message them with something they like or ask them if they want to hang out. However, if they stay unresponsive, you may need to talk to them face to face to see if they are even using Facebook on any regular basis or to find out what else might be up.

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Review profiles before adding a person as a friend. Do you like the memes they post? Do you see anything that might offend you? Be choosy. And remember, you can always unfriend someone, or even unfriend and block the person.

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Warnings

Get to know your 'friends' profiles at least a little.

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Know your contacts. Though it seems you can be friends with anyone on Facebook, also know that sometimes Facebook requires you to identify the person by their profile picture.

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