This new feature on Facebook allows users to “check in” at different locations and then send a post to the user’s Facebook account informing everyone of their location.
Other applications comparable to this feature include Gowalla and Foursquare.
The feature also allows users to tag their friends in their location and allows users to see which of their friends are nearby.
Here’s what Facebook says about the new application.
There are several privacy settings you can choose for this application. Under your privacy settings in your Facebook account, you can choose:
- Who you want to allow to see the places you’ve checked into- if anyone.
- If you want to allow others to tag you in places they have checked into.
The places feature works with the newest version of the iPhone Facebook application or if your smartphone supports HTML 5 and geolocation.
If you’re been using this feature, what do you think about it?
If you haven’t been using this feature, why not?
What are your overall thoughts/concerns about this feature?
Photo By: Spencer E Holtaway
August 25th, 2010 at 6:31 am
Since I rarely access the Internet from anywhere except home and work, it's basically pointless anyway but here are my concerns just the same.
1) Twitter's much vaunted locator kept telling me that I'm in a city two hours from where I am so I'm not sure this technology actually even works. Somehow Facebook is going to have to do a lot better.
2) We have to remind out tweens and teens that they should never say that no one is home, or that they are home alone in their status. Now Facebook makes it even easier for them to make a potentially dangerous mistake.
3) I'm not sure I even want my friends to know where I am on my time off. I'm just kind of private that way. If I want to advertise my location in my status, then I can do that very well without help.
August 25th, 2010 at 7:34 am
John, thanks for the comments! I agree with you in regards to privacy concerns. It is kind of alarming to me to think that anyone on Facebook can follow me and know where I am at. Of course, Facebook doesn't automatically check you in anywhere. As I understand it, you have to click, "check in here" to actually send your location to your friends. So, there is some sense of privacy because you have to choose to share.
I'm with you on point #3. I don't want everyone I know always knowing where I am and what I'm doing. The people who should know will know…and not through Facebook.
August 30th, 2010 at 4:01 pm
hmmmm…. good to know. You know what they say… Safety first. Great job!