With ‘Nearby Friends’ Feature, Facebook Stalking Is About to Take On New Meaning

By Wendy Frink Apr 17, 2014

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Dying to know where your friends are at all times? Want everyone to know where you are without having to take the time to “check-in?”

Now you can! (Can you sense the sarcasm here?)

Facebook is rolling out its optional Nearby Friends feature today on iPhone and Android.

It works like this: A friend will get notifications that you are nearby, but only if both of you opt-in to this feature. So in theory, if you’re out cruising around and feel some hunger pains, you can figure out who is close by and ask them to grab a bite to eat.

Related: Getting Bored of Social Media? You’re Not Alone. (Infographic)

Of course, this can also have the opposite effect (“Oh hey, ex-lover”), which is why you have the ability to control who sees you. So if you don’t want your talkative Aunt Sally or your creepy ex-boyfriend coming to find you, don’t share this information with either of them. Of course, you can also just turn the feature off completely.

Facebook also recently rolled out the ability to ask for recommendations on music, books and more on your friend’s profile.

Which just goes to show you — while there are some things Facebook shouldn’t do, these days there’s almost nothing it won’t do.

Related: If You Ask for ‘Likes’ on Facebook, You’re About to Get Clobbered

Dying to know where your friends are at all times? Want everyone to know where you are without having to take the time to “check-in?”

Now you can! (Can you sense the sarcasm here?)

Facebook is rolling out its optional Nearby Friends feature today on iPhone and Android.

It works like this: A friend will get notifications that you are nearby, but only if both of you opt-in to this feature. So in theory, if you’re out cruising around and feel some hunger pains, you can figure out who is close by and ask them to grab a bite to eat.

Related: Getting Bored of Social Media? You’re Not Alone. (Infographic)

Of course, this can also have the opposite effect (“Oh hey, ex-lover”), which is why you have the ability to control who sees you. So if you don’t want your talkative Aunt Sally or your creepy ex-boyfriend coming to find you, don’t share this information with either of them. Of course, you can also just turn the feature off completely.

Facebook also recently rolled out the ability to ask for recommendations on music, books and more on your friend’s profile.

Which just goes to show you — while there are some things Facebook shouldn’t do, these days there’s almost nothing it won’t do.

Related: If You Ask for ‘Likes’ on Facebook, You’re About to Get Clobbered

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Wendy Frink

Social Media Editor at Entrepreneur.com
Wendy Frink is the social media editor for Entrepreneur.com.

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