Aug 17

Facebook will let your friends say where you are (whether you are, or not)

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Facebook is entering the location-sharing game to compete with the likes of Foursquare, meaning you can now add your location to the list of things you’re oversharing. But as with all Facebook features, the devil is in the details. Because Facebook wants to do more than just let you check into a location. They want to let your friends check you into locations, by tagging you. Sound confusing? This is how it works:

You go with your friend to a  particular Starbucks. Your friend wants all her friends to know she’s at that particular Starbucks. So she “checks in” thereby broadcasting her whereabouts. But your friend can also check you in by tagging you so everyone knows that you’re at that Starbucks with her. Although, really, you don’t even have to be there, for that to happen. You are, however, notified if you’ve been checked in somewhere.

There are a number of reasons why this could be a very bad thing, but the biggest is this: you let everyone know where you are (and where you’re not). This can be an issue of physical security for you and your home (since everyone will know you’re not there, you’re at Starbucks). It may also tell other people about aspects of your personal life you’d rather not share.

Fortunately, you can turn this off:

  1. Go to your Facebook account’s privacy settings.
  2. Click on Customize Settings
  3. Scroll down to “Friends can check me in to places, and select “Disabled.”

Facebook “Let friends check you in” settings

You’ll need to decide if you want to use Facebook’s new “check in” feature to let people know where you are. There are plenty of reasons not to (see the physical security issues above). But we do think everyone has the right to choose to say where they are, and when.

Check out our complete guide to Facebook’s privacy settings to find out how you can further protect yourself.

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