diff --git a/plugins/OStatus/lib/discoveryhints.php b/plugins/OStatus/lib/discoveryhints.php
index 1bb0ad2aea..9102788e6f 100644
--- a/plugins/OStatus/lib/discoveryhints.php
+++ b/plugins/OStatus/lib/discoveryhints.php
@@ -65,6 +65,10 @@ class DiscoveryHints {
     {
         $hcard = self::_hcard($body, $url);
 
+        if (empty($hcard)) {
+            return array();
+        }
+
         $hints = array();
 
         // XXX: don't copy stuff into an array and then copy it again