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Huge Facebook Glitch Saw App Auto-Sending Friend Requests After You Looked At Someone’s Profile

A huge Facebook glitch saw the app making irritating chirping noises.
Credit: Alamy

Facebook users have found themselves in a state of distress due to a concerning glitch that has reportedly exposed their online ‘stalking’ activities. 

The social media platform has achieved remarkable success over the years, evolving from a college networking site into a global platform with billions of active users.

Through continuous innovation and effective advertising models, Facebook has become one of the most influential and profitable tech companies in the world.

But now, some users have been left red-faced.

The reported glitch has led to instant friend requests being sent to profiles that have been viewed, raising worries among users that their ex-partners, old friends or even strangers are now aware of their watchful gaze.

One Facebook user posted: “Worst time to stalk an ex from YEARS ago when you’re drunk and he pops into your head randomly.”

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Another chimed in: “Spent most of today cringing myself inside out after being caught by the Facebook friend request bug (it sends friend requests to any profile you click on).”

For some, the reported glitch prompted reflections on the profiles they had visited recently.

“I wonder who I’ve Facebook stalked and the app bug has sent them a friend request,” said one user.

A few individuals were so embarrassed by the situation that they contemplated deactivating their Facebook accounts altogether.

The glitch prompted the Meta-owned company to swiftly release an update to address the issue.

Meta friend requests.
Facebook users have found themselves in a state of distress due to a concerning glitch that has exposed their online ‘stalking’ activities on the popular social media platform. Credit: Meta

A spokesperson for Meta told The Daily Beast: “We fixed a bug related to a recent app update that caused some Facebook friend requests to be sent mistakenly.

“We’ve stopped this from happening and we apologise for any inconvenience this may have caused.”

The precise number of individuals affected remains unclear.

If you were discreetly checking out an ex-partner’s profile or surreptitiously browsing through a colleague’s Facebook page, there’s a possibility they may have received an unexpected friend request from you.

While many were concerned by the reported glitch, some took a more lighthearted view of the situation, calling it the ‘funniest thing Facebook has ever done’.

Additionally, the glitch has inadvertently shed light on the popularity – or lack thereof – of certain individuals.

Numerous Facebook users complained that their profiles had not garnered much attention.

One TikTok user joked: “Facebook glitch just showing me how unpopular I am.”

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Others joined in, stating: “No one stalking me either.”

If you’re worried that you might have been affected by this technical malfunction, you can visit facebook.com/friends.

From there, navigate to ‘Friend Requests’ on the left-hand tab and select ‘View send requests’ to review any pending requests.

This isn’t the first time Facebook has experienced glitches affecting user experiences.

Last year, another bug resulted in user feeds being inundated with posts from strangers sharing content on celebrity pages.

In 2016, people were puzzled when old photographs were reposted to their Facebook timelines as if they were new, a situation that was also traced back to a glitch caused by an app update.

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Written by Cal Gaunt

Cal is a former content editor at IGV who specialized in writing trending and entertainment news. He previously worked as a news reporter at the Lancashire Telegraph and earned an NCTJ in Sports Journalism.