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The recently launched Facebook Places mobile application has been a hot topic these past few days among social media users. It is a location-based feature that lets you share where you are and what you’re up to, with your friends. You can also tag your friends and view their comments about the location you are in. It uses a GPS and shows a map of where you and your friends are checked-in.
It is currently available in the United States and can be accessed using the iPhone Facebook application. It will also be available in Blackberry and other android devices soon. You can also use Facebook Places via your desktop or laptop by going to http://touch.facebook.com, going to the Places tab and clicking on Share Location.
This application is quite appealing to the younger generation but it can also raise concerns regarding privacy and safety as it can be a potential tool for stalkers. The question is how safe is Facebook Places? Well, there are safety features in the application that you can use.
- Using the application is optional; you can choose not to share your location with anyone
- By default, Facebook Places will only send location notifications to your friends. You have control over who will see you and it is important to approve only people that you know.
- If you are with your friends and they tag you in a location post, but you will only be visible in Facebook Places if you are also checked-in on the same location. No one can share your location for you. However this is only limited to being spotted on the map, it does not stop your friends from mentioning you in their shout outs.
- When you share your location this will appear in the recent activity stream of your locations’ Facebook Places page, you can however control this with your privacy settings.
If you wish to change your settings, you can do this by following a few simple steps.
- Log on to Facebook and go to Account, found on the upper right hand corner and go to Privacy Settings.
- You can customize the “Places I Check in to” setting by choosing Friends only (this is the default setting) or you can click on customize to choose who among your friends will see you on Facebook Places.
- The “People Here Now” option, lets others who are not your friends see if you are in the same area, you can remove your name from this list by un-checking the enable box like the picture below.
- If you do not want your friends to share your location, you can also control this on the same page by going to the “Things others share” section and choosing disable on the “Friends can check me in to Places” option.
In every technological leap, safety is a priority. If used correctly, Facebook places can be a fun way of connecting with your friends and widening your network. If you are a business owner, it can be a powerful tool; you can use it to put your name on the map as a digital word-of-mouth.
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Wonder how many people have been caught lying to wifes/ husbands, girlfriends/ boyfriends about where they are because people have tagged them at a location when they were supposed to be somewhere else, haha. I personally do not use this feature, and really would not want someone disclosing my location, for obvious safety reasons.