Facebook now allows your friends to know where you are. Cool and creepy, right?
According to Firstpost, Facebook announced its new addition on Friday. It's called Nearby Friends, and is available for its mobile users. The feature allows Facebook users to see where their friends are if they have turned it on. The viewer also has to turn the feature on to view friends' locations.
The new feature relies on GPS to collect location data. Users, however, don't need to panic yet. The exact location is not transmitted, and the GPS data is only used to inform friends when you are nearby.
"You can manually share a more precise location with a specific friend you'd like to meet up with. Friends can see where you're located in a particular park, airport or city block," according to Firstpost.
Facebook said the new feature is to facilitate real-time interactions, which Information Week described as a marked shift for a company that has tried to keep its users online in the past.
"When you see a friend visiting a place you've been, it's the perfect opportunity to send a recommendation for a great restaurant. You can also make last-minute plans to meet up with a friend who happens to be in the same place you're headed to," wrote Facebook product manager Andrea Vaccari in a blog post, according to Information Week.
Forbes said the new feature is not original, but Facebook has a better shot at success compared to similar applications. It also said by not launching the feature as a separate application, which would require a large number of downloads to become a success, Facebook kept the app option open for a time when maps become a big hit with mobile users.
Forbes also pointed out direct benefits to Facebook. "Ads, or location-based ads if they are on the roadmap, will not be in the mix near term. But FB should benefit from an overall increase in minutes of usage," it reported.
