New Facebook feature “Nearby Friends” lets you track friends in real-time

If you are wondering where your Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ:FB) friends are, do not fret. Facebook is setting up a new feature called “Nearby Friends.” This app uses location information so that you can track your friends in real time. If any of them are not answering your texts, at least Facebook will let you know where they are.

The motivation behind the feature is to allow people to meet up more often. This is to enable them to have real, face-to-face conversations instead of conversing online a majority of the time. Also, Nearby Friends is not turned on by default. You will have to turn it on through your “settings” page. That is actually a good thing, giving you more control over how you want Facebook to work for you.

So, in essence, Facebook cannot actually see where you are unless you enable live tracking. Since this can be potentially invasive, it is refreshing that it is opt-in instead of mandatory. Perhaps this is Facebook’s way of showing that they have learned something from their past mistakes over privacy concerns and complaints they have received regarding those concerns.

Also, you can customize the app. So, you get to choose whether or not you want to share your location with your general friends list or just a set of people you are closest to. Given that some people have hundreds and thousands of Facebook friends, that is also a logical choice.

Once “Nearby Friends” is turned on, you can see the list of your approved friends, and their locations, as well. That is if they are using the feature, too. The app collects data on your current location as well as your past locations.