People Who Are Standing Near You Will Soon Be Suggested As Friends By Facebook

Facebook has recently patented a new creepy feature which uses sensors in your phone to see people nearby and suggests them as a friend. The patent states that the function can be used when the ‘first user and the second user forgets to obtain each other’s full names and contact information.’ It also says that the phone sensors can spot people who have similar movement patterns. The patent states, “In one embodiment, the broadcast trigger can occur when data from at least one of a gyroscope, an accelerometer, or a motion processor of the computing system indicates that the computing system is moving in a movement pattern similar to that of a source of the second wireless communication.”

The feature will use different sensors, including Bluetooth and NFC and also analyze the signal strength to find who is present nearby. The patent goes on to explain how sensors in the phone can monitor the nearby people who are using the same ‘connection suggestion module.’ The creepy feature can even use GPS and analyze a stationary pattern, a walking pattern, a running pattern, or even vehicle-riding pattern to find the users. The firm says in the patent application that it hopes to avoid any ‘missed connections.’

The patent states, “Under conventional approaches, when a first user wants to find a second user within a social networking service, the first user usually has the second user’s name, username, or contact information. However, in some cases, the first user may have met the second user but may not have a convenient or practical way of finding the second user. In one example, the first user and the second user meet at a gathering. The first user and the second user become acquainted and decide to connect with each other via a social networking service. During their meeting, the first user and the second user forgot to obtain each other’s full names and contact information.  Furthermore, the first user and second user do not have any mutual connections that are readily recognizable or apparent to each other. Thus, the opportunity for the first and second users to connect can be lost.”