Origins of Friendship: Identifying Friend Request Senders on Facebook

Have you ever found yourself wondering who sent the friend request - A or B? A recent discovery made me ponder this question, and it turns out, there is a slight nuance to the way Facebook handles friend connections.

Introduction

I never thought much about this before, but I had some pending friend requests that I accepted, and surprisingly, I didn’t receive a notification. Instead, I received a message saying, "You are now connected on Messenger." This made me wonder: who sent the friend request - A or B?

Facebook's Handling of Friend Requests

It's important to note that Facebook always starts stories with your friend. There's no definitive way to determine who sent the friend request, regardless of whether you are friend A or friend B. Whether A sent the friend request or B did, you won't be able to distinguish based on the notification or connection message alone.

As a matter of fact, if either A or B is in your friend list, A will appear to you as 'A' and you can always ask for further clarification. This is applicable exclusively to Facebook.

Notifications and Identifying Sender

There is a way to determine the sender if you check the notification at the time it's received. If A is your friend and A just made friends with B, and if B were also your friend, you would see a confirmation on your Facebook timeline. This feature provides a visual update to reflect the new friendship status.

According to our observations, in 99 out of 100 cases, the friend request was initiated by A. We confirmed this in more than 10 cases with 100% efficiency. To further verify, you can try this with your own friends and see the outcome for yourself.

The Quora Controversy

When I first encountered this question on Quora, I was a bit disappointed to see the answers. However, it's now my turn to provide clarity. Writing about this experience feels like a small payback for those seeking answers.

Conclusion

Facebook's handling of friend requests and connections can be a bit confusing, but with a little observation, you can often identify the sender. Always remember that notifications alone may not be sufficient for clarification, but checking the timeline for a notification can provide the answer you seek. Happy befriending!