Sometimes, we can’t find someone on Facebook for several reasons. Facebook has registered billions of users worldwide, so it’s no wonder you search for a name and see hundreds and thousands of people with the same name. Scrolling the entire list can be hectic and time-consuming.
People often add their phone numbers on Facebook for two-step verification and account recovery. In addition, business owners and business pages keep their mobile numbers public so their clients can contact them. In some cases, a phone number associated with a Facebook account may help you find a person or business on Facebook, depending on their privacy settings.
Let’s explore how to find a Facebook account by phone number. It’s not going to be straightforward. Instead, we’ll use some additional tricks to achieve the results.
Is the Facebook Phone Number Search Possible?
Facebook may allow you to find some accounts using a phone number, but this feature is heavily restricted by privacy settings. In many cases, searching a phone number directly on Facebook will not return the person’s profile, even if the number is linked to their account.
In this guide, we’ll see how to search Facebook by phone number. We’ll explain the steps for the app and desktop versions. They are almost similar but differ a bit.
Can You Find Someone on Facebook by Their Phone Number Always?
Searching for people on Facebook using their phone numbers isn’t possible for many reasons mentioned below:
- They have not created a Facebook account with the number you have.
- They may have restricted who can find them using their phone number through Facebook privacy settings.
- They have changed their Facebook privacy settings and haven’t chosen the “Everyone” option for “Who can look you up using the phone number you provided?” So, if they are not your friends on Facebook, you can’t find them until they allow everyone to search for them using their phone numbers.
How to Find Someone on Facebook by Phone Number?
If you want to find out what’s on the special menu of your nearby restaurant today, you can quickly search their Facebook page by name or phone number. Finding a business on Facebook by phone number is simple.
But searching for Facebook friends by phone numbers will not be easy. This is because Facebook has changed many things over time.
As I told you earlier, finding a person by phone number on Facebook will be trickier. Therefore, we’ve compiled several methods that may help you find the right profile. So stay with us without skipping anything.
Method 1: Upload Contacts to Facebook
If you know someone’s mobile number and save their contact in your contact book, sync your phone contacts with Facebook. It is the simplest way to find acquaintances on Facebook.
Facebook does not guarantee that all synced contacts will appear in “People You May Know.” Facebook uses multiple signals, including mutual friends, location, and account activity.
Steps slightly differ for iPhone and Android users, so they are covered separately.
iPhone –
Steps to upload contacts to Facebook on iOS:
- Open the Facebook app on your iPhone.
- Tap the hamburger (three horizontal lines) menu.
- Scroll down the opened sidebar, and tap the gear icon next to the Settings and privacy option.
- Next tap the settings options.
- In the Search settings search box, search for “Upload contacts”.
- Now, tap the Upload contacts option.
- Tap one of your available profiles, and allow access to your contacts.
- Now, Facebook account of your contacts will populate shortly.
- Scroll down the list to find the person you are looking for, and tap the Add button to send the friend request.
Android Phone –
Steps to continuous contacts upload with Facebook on Android:
- Open the Facebook app on your phone.
- Tap the hamburger (three horizontal lines icon) menu.
- Tap the gear icon next to the Settings and privacy option.
- Next, tap the Settings option.
- Now enter “Upload contacts” in the Search setting box.
- Now you can see the Upload contacts option. Tap it.
- Now tap one of your profile and tap the Continuous contacts upload toggle on button.
- Next, tap the Continue button. If asked to “Allow Facebook to access your contacts” then “Allow” it.
- Now, you see the message– “Your contacts are syncing…”
- After that, a list of “People you may know” appears on the screen.
- Scroll down the entire list to find a person on Facebook from your contacts.
- Tap the “Add Friend” button to send a friend request.
Method 2: Search Facebook by Phone Number
Direct phone number searches on Facebook may work for business pages, public profiles, or users who have enabled phone-number discoverability. However, most personal Facebook accounts cannot be reliably found this way due to privacy restrictions.
Using a web browser –
- Open a web browser on your computer, tablet, or phone.
- Visit the Facebook website and log in to your account.
- Click the Facebook search bar next to the Facebook logo.
- Enter the phone number into the search bar.
- Hit the enter/return button on your keyboard.
Using the Facebook application –
- Open your Facebook app.
- Tap the search icon next to the messenger icon.
- Enter the phone number to search for someone on Facebook.
- Tap the search button.
Facebook may show matching pages, public profiles, or content associated with the phone number. However, many personal accounts will not appear because of privacy restrictions.
Want to find but didn’t find a Facebook account by phone number? Then, you can add the area code, remove all dashes/hyphens between numbers, and search for the number one more time. You may get more relevant results by trying different phone number formats.
Method 3: Ask for the FB Profile URL by Phone Number
Instead of spending hours finding someone on Facebook using the phone number you have. Why don’t you contact the person through WhatsApp, Telegram, iMessage, or SMS to ask them directly? If the person you want to connect with on Facebook feels comfortable, definitely share their Facebook username or profile URL with you. Thus, you will find a link to their Facebook account effortlessly.
Method 4: Find Someone on Facebook with a Phone Number and Name
If the person you’re looking for lives in the United States, you can use the phone number’s area code to identify their location.
This method is not guaranteed to work because many people move, keep old phone numbers, or use numbers registered in different locations.
For instance, My friend’s name is Shakira, and her area code is 305-XXX-XXX.
- Open the Google app on your phone.
- Search for “Area code 305.” Remember to change 305 with your area code.
- Google shows 305 belongs to Miami, Florida.
- Search Facebook for “Shakira Miami, Florida.”
Perhaps you’ll get the expected result.
Method 5: Find Someone on Facebook with a Phone Number and NO Name
Sometimes, we forget to ask for a person’s full name or change their name’s spelling. Is there something we can do?
- Open the Google app.
- Search for “reverse number lookup” or reverse phone lookup.”
- Open a relevant website that works perfectly in your country, such as Anywho, Spokeo, PeopleFinders, etc.
- Search for the phone number on these websites.
- If information about the number is available in public records or databases, you may see the owner’s name or other identifying details.
Reverse phone lookup services may help identify the owner of a phone number in some countries. Results vary by region, and many services require a paid subscription. Always use reputable providers and respect privacy laws in your country.
Conclusion
Thank you for reading our article. I hope you learned how to find someone on Facebook with a phone number.
Finding a Facebook profile using a phone number is possible in some cases, but Facebook’s privacy protections mean it often won’t work for personal accounts. Uploading contacts, searching by name and location, or asking for the profile link directly are usually more reliable methods.
Everything goes smoothly if he hasn’t put any privacy restrictions in place and you sync your phone contacts with your Facebook account. Alternatively, you can directly ask for a link to their profile.
