Profiles allow people (members) to get to know each other better. A profile is all about the member.  The individual may add information about themself  or share some posts, photos, and videos to let folks know what they are all about.  It is possible to put controls in place that allow a member to decide exactly what information is public and what's available only to the people  identified as friends or colleagues (or whatever you want to name your friend sets).

This information lets members get to know each other and search by different info in your profile. The profile info must be public for others to find the information; that means only items shared with "Everyone" can be used in search.