Facebook to Remove Several Location-Based Features

Meta-owned Facebook has revealed that it plans to remove several features from the social media platform. According to the details, Facebook plans to drop features like Nearby Friends and location-based features like Weather Alerts, and Location History.

Facebook will reportedly remove these features from the platform and delete all the related data from its severs after May 31, 2022. However, the company has not revealed any reason behind the move, but it has informed users of the decision so they can download any required data before it is permanently deleted.

“Nearby Friends and Weather alerts will no longer be available after May 31, 2022.” said Facebook in a notification to its users. “Information you shared that was used for these experiences, including Location History and Background Location, will stop being collected after May 31, even if you have previously enabled them.” it added.

It is pertinent to mention that Nearby Friends was launched in 2014 as a way for people to share their current location with their friends on the social media platform. However, Facebook has decided to pull several other location-based features from the platform, including Location History, Time Alerts, and Background Location.

Users can download all their data from the platform until May 31, 2022, which will be the last date for these location-based features. However, there will be the option to download some data even after the feature is removed. For instance, users can download their location history until August 1, 2022.

However, the discontinuation of these features does not mean that Facebook will stop collecting users’ location data. Facebook has clarified that location data will still be collected for other purposes such as advertisements. There is, however, an option available for users to disable the tracking.

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