Facebook, the biggest social network on the planet with more than a billion users, seems to want to know even more about you. More precisely, Facebook seems to want to track you at all times.
At least that’s the gist of a report from Bloomberg that came out on Monday and says that Facebook is working on a smartphone application that would track users’ location even when the app isn’t opened. According to this report, the app itself would be used to track a user and alert him whenever friends are nearby but the actual use of the app is so that Facebook can serve you localized ads.
Facebook has been struggling for a long time with their mobile strategy and this app, if it actually comes to market, is just the latest effort by the company to try and monetize its huge user base and mobile presence.
The social network has already come under heavy attack amid privacy concerns for its users and launching an app that continuously tracks users’ location is definitely not going to help. Similar products from Apple and Google have failed to gain any widespread adoption due to the same privacy concerns Facebook will now face.
According to Bloomberg the app is set to be released sometime in March of this year though an exact date has yet to be set.
Source: Bloomberg
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