Facebook ‘Nearby Friends’ Will Track Your Location History To Target You With Ads

[Lite Beer]

Facebook ‘Nearby Friends’ Will Track Your Location History To Target You With Ads
by Josh Constine (@joshconstine)

Facebook says it’s not using its new Nearby Friends feature to target ads yet, but after I asked why it’s tracking “Location History” it admitted it will eventually use the data for marketing purposes.

This morning, the proximity sharing feature began rolling out to iOS users after it’s launch yesterday, and with it I discovered a new “Location History” setting that must be left on to use Nearby Friends.

The description below the Location History setting in Nearby Friends reads “When Location History is on, Facebook builds a history of your precise location, even when you’re not using the app. See or delete this information in the Activity Log on your profile.” Notice the careful use of ‘builds a history’ instead of the scarier word ‘tracks’.

Read More: http://techcrunch.com/2014/04/18/facebook-location-advertising/

--Techcrunch.com 2014-04-20

[canopus1969]

Yet another reason for not using this rubbish

[WinnieTheKhwai]

I don't really get this because it already tracks your location history, of check-ins primarily.

As you'd expect a *social network* to do. If I look up a restaurant I see which of my friends has been there, and what they posted about it. That makes a lot of sense and is very useful. It extends 'word of mouth' and is of benefit to me as well as to the place I'm looking at visiting.

But yes, people who are anti-social or just don't care to share stuff with others have no need for a social network. I'd be like giving a fish a bicycle.

(In defence of the fish though, they then don't go whine about it. )

Edited April 20, 2014 by WinnieTheKhwai

[HeavyDrinker]

"Ohhhhhhhhh pass me the Tin Foil Hat Marjorie...."

[WinnieTheKhwai]

Also, doesn't everyone know to disable location in Facebook when they're on a weekend holiday to Pattaya? I thought everyone knew that. Tinfoil hatters even leave their phone off completely. And bring enough cash to not have to use an ATM. And don't book a hotel or bus through the internet.

Come on.. everyone knows those things, but to Techcrunch.com -who perhaps don't visit pattaya as much- these things still feel fresh, apparently.

Edited April 20, 2014 by WinnieTheKhwai

[chaiyapoon]

BIG brother is watching you.But if you have nothing to hide whats the problem?

If we have a problem with it now just wait a few more years I predict that someone,or many some bodies, will know absolutly everything about us.

The technology is nearly there now just needs to become more wide spread.

[neek]

BIG brother is watching you.But if you have nothing to hide whats the problem?

If we have a problem with it now just wait a few more years I predict that someone,or many some bodies, will know absolutly everything about us.

The technology is nearly there now just needs to become more wide spread.

I'm not sure if you're being wilfully ignorant or sarcastic. Your attitude is at least 5 years out of date and you don't seem to have been paying attention to the various government spying related leaks that have been making headlines for the past few years.

Just one example: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Prism_slide_5.jpg (full article http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PRISM_%28surveillance_program%29)

[lucifer666]

I use Social Fixer ( It's free). I don't get any ads or any stupid game requests popping up either.

[Greer]

It's not so much that we don't want Big Brother watching us as was portrayed by Orwell, but that we are becoming ever more wary of spying being done by governments AND private companies - neither of which I feel comfortable with, primarily because governments in general are composed of lying thieves and thugs, and companies only want to find better ways to get our money out of our pocket and into theirs... in fact this applies to the lying thieving scum we call "government" as well, and across any society anywhere in the world.

Allowing FarceBoob to track us EVERY MINUTE of our day, no matter if the application is running or not, is actually quite intrusive. So you think that as long as you aren't doing anything wrong, why does it matter? Well, its the same as having someone with a notebook following you and jotting down every single place you go, even when you go to the toilet, and how long you spend in each place...exactly what do they need that level of detail for? I feel that is an intrusion into my privacy, and most definitely excessive.

[sustento]

"Ohhhhhhhhh pass me the Tin Foil Hat Marjorie...."

I think you mean the tinfoil phone

[Chicog]

There are enough CCTV cameras and face recognition technology around to track where you are anyway, so worrying about Facebook is probably the least of your problems.

[HerbalEd]

Like you said, you can turn it off.

[JesseFrank]

I use Social Fixer ( It's free). I don't get any ads or any stupid game requests popping up either.

Not yet.

[kaveh]

this is called Socialism!

once you AGREE to use a social media, you already forced to "rules and regulations" and you shouldn't consider and worry about your private section because Privacy has no meaning in a social activity.

[sirineou]

There are enough CCTV cameras and face recognition technology around to track where you are anyway, so worrying about Facebook is probably the least of your problems.

Ha, that's where you are wrong!

If you walk around making faces, grimacing . and twitching your face,

Like I do

Face recognition technology would never pick you up.

[Pib]

Sure hope they never install location tracking on commodes....but if they do I wonder what types of ads that would target you with?