The people who pop up in your Facebook "people you may know" section may be because you have recently crossed paths with them.

The section is usually driven by a random assortment of acquaintances with whom you have mutual friends through the social media site, however a common link is also two people who have a shared GPS data point on their phones.

Fusion reported the story when a parent attended a gathering and noticed that Facebook suggested he be friends with another parent who attended, even though they did not exchange any contact information.

The company said that location is just one factor in the algorithm that is used to populate the "people you may know" section.

How to turn off location settings

The algorithm may come in handy if you met someone and want to reach out to them again, but some may want their privacy. To turn off the location settings, Android users can visit their app manager to open Facebook permissions. Then switch the location setting to "off."

For iPhone users, location services can be turned off by going to settings, then privacy and location services. Then scroll down to Facebook and choose "Never." (You may want to look at your location settings for other apps installed on your phone as well)