Facebook is one of the oldest social media platforms. It’s been able to catch up with the competition and keep itself in the market. However, the more visual platforms like Snapchat and TikTok thrive, the more users are reluctant to use Facebook. The company is now ditching some location-based features. As per the company’s announcement, Nearby Friends, weather alerts, location history, and background location are among the features that will die forever. Also, the Meta-owned platform will stop collecting location data associated with these features on May 31. Moreover, if you want to download your location history, you have time until August 1. After that, Facebook will remove all stored data related to these features. “If you want to view or delete your existing Location History, you can access your information and download your information before August 1, 2022. After this date, if you do nothing, your existing Location History information will be automatically deleted.” The company noted.
Facebook says these features had lost their popularity
Nearby Friends released in 2014 and allowed users to share their real-time location with friends to see if anyone is close. However, everything has changed since 2014, and Nearby Friends is no longer as popular as before. The spokesperson Emil Vazquez told The Verge, “While we’re deprecating some location-based features on Facebook due to low usage, people can still use Location Services to manage how their location information is collected and used.” Of course, despite removing the data collected through these features, Facebook will continue to collect your location data “for other experiences.” The company says it uses location to show relevant ads and location check-ins. However, Facebook has a troubling track record of keeping users’ data safe. So, deleting some old data may bring peace of mind to users. The Meta-owned company has recently agreed to pay $90 million to settle a data privacy lawsuit. Facebook has numerous similar lawsuits inside the United States and abroad.
