You can call it a fluke all you want but something’s definitely up with Facebook’s search function. Inti De Ceukelaire, a Belgian Hacker, recently discovered that it is possible for a user to search for their female friends’ photos but the same doesn’t apply for their male friends.
In case it isn’t a glitch and is an actual feature, you can verify it yourself by searching for “photos of my female friends” in the search bar. Once you submit your query, Facebook will return a number of photos of your female friends, which they had uploaded on their timelines.
However, the same doesn’t happen when the search is repeated for male friends. This query returns a number of pictures from all over Facebook, and not only of people you are friends with. What’s even more interesting is that some of these pictures can be from profiles, pages and groups which you don’t even follow. Moreover, Facebook will reconfirm and ask you whether the query was supposed to include “female” instead of “male”.
If you remember, Facebook succeeded “Facemash”. Facemash was developed by Mark Zukerberg when he was in Harvard. The program allowed students to rate their female colleagues, based on their physical appearance. Although, such an idea is now outdated and considered offensive by many, it’s strange to see Facebook with a similar feature.
Read Next: Facebook makes it more transparent for users to see how their personal information is used for ad targeting
Featured Photo: Bloomberg via Getty Images
In case it isn’t a glitch and is an actual feature, you can verify it yourself by searching for “photos of my female friends” in the search bar. Once you submit your query, Facebook will return a number of photos of your female friends, which they had uploaded on their timelines.
However, the same doesn’t happen when the search is repeated for male friends. This query returns a number of pictures from all over Facebook, and not only of people you are friends with. What’s even more interesting is that some of these pictures can be from profiles, pages and groups which you don’t even follow. Moreover, Facebook will reconfirm and ask you whether the query was supposed to include “female” instead of “male”.
Facebook heeft dit weekend hun creepy verborgen zoekfunctie stiekem aangepast. Je kan nu geen verborgen foto's meer opvragen van je mannelijke vrienden. Vrouwen kan/mag je wel nog stalken. 🙄 pic.twitter.com/gXppjNt5E1— Inti De Ceukelaire (@intidc) February 11, 2019
If you remember, Facebook succeeded “Facemash”. Facemash was developed by Mark Zukerberg when he was in Harvard. The program allowed students to rate their female colleagues, based on their physical appearance. Although, such an idea is now outdated and considered offensive by many, it’s strange to see Facebook with a similar feature.
Related: How Would a Dislike Button Impact Facebook?However, it should be noted that Facebook is continuously working on improving its product and introducing new features. Sometimes, this will result in certain mistakes, like the one mentioned above. What’s important is if the Social Media Giant fixes those flaws timely. Lastly, Facebook has yet to leave a comment on this issue.
Read Next: Facebook makes it more transparent for users to see how their personal information is used for ad targeting
Featured Photo: Bloomberg via Getty Images
