Facebook Unfollows 'Nearby Friends,' Other Background Location Features
Facebook will no longer be able to give you a heads-up about friends near you or impending weather changes, because after May 31 its mobile apps won’t be able to check your location in the background. Facebook will then wipe its records of users’ location histories after Aug. 1.
As 9to5Mac reports, the social network began announcing this massive data-minimization move in a minimal form: prompts in the apps of users who had enabled Nearby Friends and other background-location-dependent features, plus email notices.
“Because you’ve previously used Nearby Friends, Weather alerts, Location History or Background Location, we’re letting you know that these products and features will no longer be available after May 31, 2022,” says an email sent to one reader. “Information you shared that was used for these experiences, including Location History and Background Location, will stop being collected after May 31, 2022, even if you have previously enabled them.”
The message also advised that Facebook will continue collecting some location data as allowed by its data policy (meaning data gathered by the app while you use it would be fair game) and reported the imminent erasure of the reader’s location history.
“If you want to view or delete your existing Location History, you can access your information and download your information before Aug. 1, 2022,” it says. “After this date, if you do nothing, your existing Location History information will be automatically deleted.”
That email points to a location-history notice on Facebook; when we clicked it, it yielded “This content isn't available right now” errors on two devices.
We asked Facebook for comment and will update this post when/if we get a response.
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