Facebook suddenly removed the feature to find nearby friends

“We will stop collecting data regarding location tracking features as of May 31, and will delete any data already stored on our servers. Facebook from 1-8″ – American technology news site The Verge on May 9, citing a notice of Meta sent to Facebook users stated.

Meta spokesman Emil Vazquez explained that they removed some of the above features “due to low user levels”. However, this does not mean that Facebook will completely stop collecting location data.

Meta said it will “continue to collect location information for other experiences” to serve relevant ads and check-ins in accordance with Facebook’s data policies. Users can view, download, or delete any location data Facebook has stored under “Settings and Privacy”. Otherwise, Facebook will automatically delete any stored data related to the discontinued services as of August 1.

The nearby friends feature, introduced by Facebook in 2014, allows the Facebook app to share a user’s real-time location with friends and vice versa. However, the appearance of features similar to Snapchat’s Snap Map or Apple’s Find My Friends, made users no longer like Facebook.

“If you want to view or delete your existing location history on Facebook, you can access the information and download it before August 1, 2022. After this date, if you do nothing, calendar information Your existing location history will be automatically deleted,” emphasized Meta’s announcement.

The announcement meta removed facebook’s features of finding nearby friends, weather alerts, location history, and background location. Photo: 9to5mac

Commenting on Meta’s move, many users think that Facebook’s removal of location-based features will help them feel more comfortable.

Facebook began allowing users on Android to turn off background location tracking in 2019, following reports of unauthorized collection of users’ locations. Similarly, Apple has also allowed users to turn off location tracking for specific apps.