Location tracking is a controversial subject. It’s often used for malicious purposes, but most people just want to know where their loved ones are. Whatever your reason may be, it’s good to be aware of how your location can be tracked on social media platforms.
In this article, you’ll learn how to track someone’s location on Facebook. We’ll also teach you how you can prevent others from tracking your location so you can boost your online safety.
Here are 4 ways you can use Facebook to find someone’s location:
1. Sharing Location on Facebook Messenger
Because online privacy is such a huge concern now, it’s virtually impossible to track someone’s location without their consent. Facebook Messenger, the social media platform’s chatting app, has an option that lets you share your location with other people.
To track someone’s location, simply ask them to share it with you over Facebook Messenger. All they have to do is open your chat in the Messenger app and tap the ‘+’ icon in the bottom-left corner.
They’ll have to give the app access to their device’s location first for this to work. It’s similar to WhatsApp’s live location tracking feature. Once they enable it, you’ll be able to track their location.
Note that you won’t be able to see it once they turn it off.
2. Track Someone’s Location Using Geotags
Using a geotag in your social media posts is a great way to get more people to see them. But it’s a double-edged sword. Anyone can click on the location and see it on Google Maps. It won’t show the exact location, but it’ll give people a pretty good idea of where you are.
Keep in mind that it’s not the most reliable method since not everyone will share their actual or current location.
3. Search for People by City
Facebook gives you the option to include your city in your profile information. Most people won’t share their exact address, of course, but once you know the name of the city where they live, you can use a people lookup site to get more precise information.
This is incredibly helpful if you want to locate an old friend or a long-lost relative.
4. Nearby Friends Feature
The Nearby Friends feature has been discontinued, but you might be able to use it if you’re on Android and have an older version of Facebook. This feature can be found under the “See More” section.
Once enabled, you can find other Facebook friends who have it turned on. It’s a bit like Snapchat’s Snap Map feature, which shows the location of your friends on a map.
According to The Verge, Facebook removed the feature because of “low usage.”
How to Prevent Others from Tracking You
The above-mentioned methods allow you to track someone’s location on Facebook if you have their consent. As of now, there is no official way to do it without someone’s consent.
Many people use third-party apps and sites to trick others into revealing their location, but this is neither ethical nor endorsed by Facebook.
Here are some tips on how to prevent others from tracking your location on Facebook:
- If someone you don’t know sends you a suspicious link on Facebook Messenger, don’t open it. People often use URL shorteners to make the link look legit. Clicking on it tells them your IP address, which they can use to track your location.
- Disable location services for Facebook on your device. This will prevent the social media platform from tracking your location, but you won’t be able to share it with friends using Messenger. You can do this by going into your phone’s location settings.
- Keep your profile information private so people who aren’t friends with you on Facebook can’t see it. This will keep them from learning more about you and also ensure that no one can access your profile.
- Make sure you regularly analyze your privacy settings on Facebook because it tends to change them frequently.
Manage Facebook Location Tracking and Boost Your Privacy
Now you know how Facebook allows you to track someone’s location. The social media giant is under constant scrutiny, which is why it changes its privacy settings regularly.
Knowing how you can track someone’s location on Facebook should give you a good understanding of how other people can track yours. By learning about these practices, you can improve your online security and protect your data.
