Facebook to scrap ‘Nearby Friends’, other location-based features from May 31

Social media giant Facebook will likely scrap location-based features such as Nearby Friends. The social media giant has begun informing users that it will soon discontinue these services, most probably by the end of the month. The exact reason behind the decision is unclear. However, Facebook has said that all information related to the features will be soon deleted from its servers.

The company has begun sending notifications to Facebook App users for iOS about the scrapping of the Nearby Friends feature. The location-based feature let users share their location with other Facebook users.

Besides, features such as Location History, Background Location, and Time Alerts will be going away soon. Facebook has informed that the Nearby Friends and other location-based features will not be available to users after May 31, 2022.


“Nearby Friends and Weather alerts will no longer be available after May 31, 2022. Information you shared that was used for these experiences, including Location History and Background Location, will stop being collected after May 31, 2022, even if you have previously enabled them,” said Facebook in its notification.

The social media company said that users can access and download their location history till August 1, 2022. After August 1, any location history or background location that was shared previously will be deleted.

The 'Nearby Friends' feature was rolled out in 2014 for both Android and iOS users. The feature had initially triggered privacy concerns. However, despite the concerns, the feature stayed on the Facebook App for years and now it is officially bidding goodbye.

However, this doesn't mean that the social media giant will not be collecting users’ location information. Facebook has said that the location data will be collected for ‘other experiences’. Anyway, users can disable the Facebook App’s access to the location by simply changing the iOS privacy settings.