Facebook Graph Search is a search feature that allows Facebook users to search for specific content on the platform using natural language queries. It was launched in 2013 and was designed to provide more personalized and relevant search results by taking into account a user’s connections, interests, and behavior on the platform.
With Facebook Graph Search, users can search for a wide range of content on Facebook, including people, pages, posts, photos, videos, and groups. The search queries can be very specific and can include multiple criteria such as location, interests, and relationship status.
For example, a user could search for “friends who like hiking and live in San Francisco” or “photos of my friends at the beach last summer.” Facebook Graph Search also allows users to discover new pages, groups, and people that they may be interested in based on their search history and preferences.
Overall, Facebook Graph Search provides a powerful tool for users to discover and connect with people, content, and communities on the platform.
Facebook Graph Search still exists, but it has undergone some changes since its initial launch in 2013. In 2019, Facebook announced that it was redesigning its search function to make it more intuitive and user-friendly, and this redesign affected the way Graph Search works.
The new search function still allows users to search for people, pages, groups, and other content on Facebook, but it has a more streamlined interface and more intuitive search options. For example, users can now search for content by typing in keywords or phrases, and the search results are categorized by type of content.
Additionally, Facebook has made changes to the privacy settings related to Graph Search. For example, users can now choose to limit the information that is searchable about them, such as their location, interests, and posts, in order to maintain greater control over their privacy on the platform.
While Facebook Graph Search has evolved and undergone changes, it still exists as a feature on the platform and remains a powerful tool for users to discover and connect with people, content, and communities on Facebook.
Facebook has announced a new search feature dubbed Graph Search, a service which is built atop the network’s Social Graph. CEO Mark Zuckerberg says the company has been working on Graph Search for years, and claims it offers something that no other service can. It is available as a limited preview right now for English audiences only.
Graph Search is a new and improved search experience that allows people to discover and learn more about your Facebook Page. With Open Graph you can find people who share your interests, Explore your world through photos, Discover restaurants, music and more.
How Privacy Works with Graph Search
Graph Search and web search are very different. Web search is designed to take a set of keywords (for example: “hip hop”) and provide the best possible results that match those keywords. With Graph Search you combine phrases (for example: “my friends in New York who like Jay-Z”) to get that set of people, places, photos or other content that’s been shared on Facebook. We believe they have very different uses.
Another big difference from web search is that every piece of content on Facebook has its own audience, and most content isn’t public. We’ve built Graph Search from the start with privacy in mind, and it respects the privacy and audience of each piece of content on Facebook. It makes finding new things much easier, but you can only see what you could already view elsewhere on Facebook.
We’re very early in the development of Graph Search. It’s only available in English today and you can search for only a subset of content on Facebook. Posts and Open Graph actions (for example, song listens) are not yet available. We’ll be working on these things over the coming months.
I agree with Umpreet on saying that this open graph search is going to become a very dangerous thing in terms of privacy for some users and I would add that is going to be a legal way of knowing about people’s trends and habits… Putting in the spotlight very trendy places, activity or anything that people like to do BUT putting asside every others that are still trying to force one’s way into our society…
And we must not forget that such an important company has alot of special rights given by the government in order to keep special businesses between them…
Definitly not sure if this is going to be a good thing for everybody…
Thank you for your interesting post.
Mélanie F.
I think this open graph search will somewhat be bad to privacy of some users, as you know it will work according what different people have put up on your side. On the other hand , great coverage, i am becoming a fan of your blog. 🙂
Umpreet, did you get your invite? I’m still waiting for mine.
Let me know.
Absolutely right. Thanks for posting.