Can someone, besides myself, access the page that shows all the people I am following?
A person sent me the link which shows a list with all the persons I am following. Could it be from someone that has special access or a possible scam?
Best Answer
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If they simply sent you the generic link https://www.familysearch.org/tree/following/ then that link will work for anyone to see their own Following list (as long as they are signed in to FamilySearch). The fact that you can see your own Following list at that link should give you no concerns that someone else can see your list. If someone else uses that link, they will simply see their own list -- not yours.
The only way someone could see your entire Following list is if you have given them access to be your Helper (by sharing your username and helper number, or by responding to their request to help you via Helper Resources). But in both those cases you would know that you specifically gave someone permission to help you.
The other little bit of information that is public is that for a particular ancestor in someone's Following list they can see other users who are following that same ancestor. So if, for example, you and I were first cousins and we were both following our mutual grandmother, then you could look at our grandmother on your Following list and see that I am following her, and I could look at our grandmother on my Following list and see that you are following her. But the fact that I can see that you are following a particular ancestor does not mean that I have any access to your entire Following list.
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Alan,
can you clarify ..... How can I find out if someone else is "following" an individual in Family Tree? I know when I make an edit it may give a message "others who are following will be notified of the change", but I don't know how to find out if someone is following an individual. thanks
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@melville,dl You need to be following the ancestor in question. Then on your Following list, click the three dots by that person. Then you'll see an option like "3 people following"; click that, and you'll see a list of the 3 people who are following that ancestor.
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I don't get three dots ...... where am I going wrong? thanks
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Here is a screenshot of what I see when hovering over the symbol - found on the "View By Person" page (but not on the "View By All Changes" one):
Is your image from the mobile version, I wonder? You quickly get to realise "1 Person Following" means that just represents yourself.
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If you just follow the link I provided, you should get to the list with the 3-dot option by each person. That's the same as using the main menu on FamilySearch to choose Family Tree and then Following.
But that list also has a button labeled "FOLLOWING 42" (if you are following 42 people). Clicking that button gives you the simpler list shown in your screen shot.
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Three responses made pretty much simultaneously!
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For those wondering how this is different on a mobile device:
@Paul W mused: "Is your image from the mobile version?"
The mobile version of the website does display things a bit differently (it's actually nothing to do with mobile per se, but just being in a small browser window). For example, the button by the Options button says "PEOPLE I AM FOLLOWING (42)" in a wider browser window, but in a narrower window, it simply says "FOLLOWING (42)". And the "Deceased People I Am Following" heading completely disappears when the browser window gets narrow enough. But the 3-dot option by each followed person is present no matter what.
@Áine Ní Donnghaile wondered: "Are you on the app @melville,dl or using the website?"
Note that the Following list is not a feature of the app at all at this point. You can choose to follow or unfollow a person using the app, but you can't see the Following list, and thus can't see who else is following a person.
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Thanks, @Alan E. Brown. I opened up the App on my Android tablet as I was posting, so I knew it was not available on the version I have. But, I wondered if the iOS version was possibly different.
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Thanks Paul W. You "hit the nail on the head" with the comment that "view by people" must be selected for the three dots to appear. Appreciate your knowledge and insight. DL Melville
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Thanks Alan E. Brown.
This link is exactly what I received.
Thanks a lot for the clarification.
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