# UPS got into my browser's collection of email addresses

**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ups-got-into-my-browsers-collection-of-email-addresses/632475
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [August 24, 2012, 9:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ups-got-into-my-browsers-collection-of-email-addresses/632475 "2012-08-24T09:47:10Z")
**Posts on this page:** 2
**Page:** 3

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### Author: ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)
#### Post date: [August 27, 2012, 9:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ups-got-into-my-browsers-collection-of-email-addresses/632475/41 "2012-08-27T09:05:42Z")

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> [@grude](#):
>
> I use the same yahoo webmail email address with facebook, and anyone I send an email to or receive one from shows up as a potential friend in facebook!
> 
> This really creeped me out the first time I said where did all these people come from?

If you didn’t allow it to access your email contacts, it’s still a plausible thing. Everything points to Facebook’s person matching methods being very intricate. From things like caching for people who search for your name on Facebook, people who may have mentioned you (without friending you) on their wall, and a host of other tiny little things. Like maybe people in their place of employment are friends with other people from your place of employment, or you’re both employed in a company around the same geographical location in town.

Facebook looks at so many possible little things, it appears psychic. Then the illusion breaks when it hiccups and recommends some guy from Russia you’ve probably never been within a thousand miles of.

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### Author: ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)
#### Post date: [August 28, 2012, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ups-got-into-my-browsers-collection-of-email-addresses/632475/42 "2012-08-28T18:57:41Z")

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No auto-filling for me. Kinda disappointing; I wanted to be paranoid and/or outraged.

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