Facebook Is Getting Rid Of This Location Feature Soon

The notification sent to Facebook app users suggests that once the Nearby Friends feature is gone, nothing that Meta’s data collection policy will also change soon. Meta has not disclosed its reasoning behind the change as yet. Nearby Friends is still available until May 31, and during that time it could still be worth removing any information that you no longer want to be shared with the service. If you’re using an iPhone, you’ll want to access the Facebook app settings from your Settings menu and then disable Location services. On Android, you can navigate to the Facebook app settings from Facebook itself. You’ll want to navigate to “Settings,” then “Location Access,” then turn off Location Services and Background Location.

Those who get the notification are also encouraged to begin downloading their Facebook information for safekeeping by August 1, 2022. Following the instructions on the app will lead you to where you can download your data, but it’s always worth taking into account which information is available to Facebook. In the case that you don’t use the app at all in favor of the desktop or mobile website, you can still access your data by navigating to “Settings & Privacy,” then “Settings,” then “Your Facebook Information.” From this point, the company suggests that you should be able to download any information that Facebook has on you and potentially delete your Facebook account entirely.