Facebook Creeping Is No Longer Totally Anonymous

There's no point denying it, there are certain people whose profile you look at a lot on Facebook.

We're talking a a whole lot more than anyone should here as well. In fact, if those people knew how much you were ogling their profile photos, statuses, and tagged picture from five years ago they would be very creeped out by you.

They'd probably want to take out a restraining order on you if they knew.

Credit: PA Images

But there's no need to worry about it, mate. It's not just you that I'm onto. That could apply to anybody. One of the best things about Facebook is that we're all complicit in these weird cycles of stalking certain people.

Social media sites know that and that's why they never reveal data like who you've been looking at, when you've been looking at them, and how often.

It would put people off.

Imagine, for instance, if you knew clicking on someones profile would give the other person a notification - like it does on LinkedIn, say - if they brought that in then it would make the experience far less enjoyable for everyone involved.

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So don't worry, it doesn't look like that's going to be coming in any time soon. However, Facebook's latest feature does mean that you can can no longer entirely plumb your friends' lives without fear of getting caught.

If you're a self-confessed Facebook stalker then it's probably worth keeping in mind that their new 'Stories' update is different from other features of the site. When you watch a friend's Story - which exists for 24 hours and is comprised of one or more photos or short videos - that friend be told that you're creeping.

Users of Snapchat and Instagram will be used to this anyway - as those apps provide you with the same information.

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But essentially it works in the same way, by showing you users who have viewed your pictures and videos in a list.

But don't worry friend, other than that it looks like there are no plans to de-anonymise creeping on the site in the near future.

Happy times.

Topics: Facebook

James Dawson

James Dawson is a Journalist at LADbible. He has contributed articles to LADbible’s ‘Knowing Me, Knowing EU’ series on the EU referendum, the 'Electoral Dysfunction' series on the 2017 general election, the ‘U OK M8?’ series tackling mental health amongst young men, and for its ‘Climate Change’ initiative in partnership with National Geographic.

@thejaytoday