Facebook will soon take on Foursquare, Twitter and Google Buzz with adding location features to Facebook updates. Facebook is rumoured to be teeing up the new location features in time for its F8 conference in April. Are you ready to let your Facebook friends know where you are right now?
The update to the Facebook privacy policy released in November added provision for sharing your location with friends and adding location to items you post on Facebook. It’s hardly surprising then that talk of Facebook location features arriving at F8 is growing.
Unlike Google Buzz which originally automatically opted Gmail user in to the service, the Facebook privacy policy already confirms that if and when location features are added they ask you to opt-in.
The Facebook location plans apparently have two elements – one part will simply allow Facebook users to share their information with friends while another will use an API to give developers the ability to offer other location-based services via Facebook.
Sources told the New York Times that Facebook is not gunning for smaller location-aware app developers like Foursquare or Gowalla. Instead Facebook apparently has its sites set on taking a bite out of Google and its location aware ad business. This all follows rumours of a Facebook Gmail killer.
Do you think Facebook will be able to launch location features and get the privacy settings right?
Due TBC | £TBC | Facebook (via New York Times Bits)
