Claim: Listing yourself as your friend on Facebook creates an open door for hackers.
Example: [Collected via e-mail, May 2010]
HACKER DOOR INTO YOUR FB ACCT- FB has a default where it lists ourselves
in our friends list now - U need to remove yourself as a friend otherwise
it is somehow an open door for hackers. Go to Account, go to edit friends,
there search for your name on the list and click the X to get your name
removed. ~~This is true, I was on my own list!"
Origins: This warning about listing yourself as a Facebook friend's creating a "hacker door" into your account is yet another bit of baseball Facebook scarelore which began circulating in May 2010.
An odd glitch that had cropped up in Facebook at the time caused users to show up in their own friends lists as friends of themselves, and such entries would typically reappear even after they have been deleted. Strange behavior, perhaps, but it had nothing to do with "opening a door" that allowed hackers into one's Facebook account — having your account name show up as your own friend has no deleterious effects in Facebook.
Last updated: 3 May 2015