Facebook to Stop Collecting , Location Data and Delete , Stored Location History.
'Fast Company' reports that Facebook will delete the location histories of its users later this summer.
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'Fast Company' reports that Facebook will delete the location histories of its users later this summer.
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The move was announced by Facebook's parent company Meta Platforms through in-app prompts and emails rather than through a public announcment.
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Features that rely on Facebook's background location tracking including Nearby Friends and weather alerts will be shut down.
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On May 31, Facebook's apps will stop recording location data and the company will delete user's location history on August 31.
According to a spokesperson for Meta, the company will be ending these features "due to low usage.".
According to a spokesperson for Meta, the company will be ending these features "due to low usage.".
'Fast Company' reports that advocates for privacy protection have applauded the scheduled change.
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'Fast Company' reports that advocates for privacy protection have applauded the scheduled change.
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Reducing the collection of this kind of data on these apps is great, Dhanaraj Thakur, Research director at the Center for Democracy and Technology, via 'Fast Company'.
However, advocates warn that the major problem with data collection hinges upon small, third-party data brokers rather than major companies like Facebook or Google.
However, advocates warn that the major problem with data collection hinges upon small, third-party data brokers rather than major companies like Facebook or Google.
Our concern goes beyond Facebook.
The data broker ecosystem in general is so opaque, and there are so many actors involved, Dhanaraj Thakur, Research director at the Center for Democracy and Technology, via 'Fast Company'.
They collect and have tremendous amounts of location data which can be linked to a lot of private data about individuals, Dhanaraj Thakur, Research director at the Center for Democracy and Technology, via 'Fast Company'
