Facebook set to remove these features from its app – Times of India

Meta-owned social media platform Facebook has revealed that it will remove certain features for its users. According to a report by 9to5Mac, the social media giant will drop features like Nearby Friends. That’s not all. The report also states that other location-based features like weather alerts will also not be available on Facebook. Facebook, as per the report, will delete these features directly from its servers. The reason behind the move, however, remains unclear at the moment.
The report by 9to5Mac quotes Facebook on the features being removed and states, “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.”
Facebook users – both on Android and iOS – have been receiving a notification on the app regarding the plug being pulled on the Nearby Friends feature. In case you are unaware, the feature was launched in 2014 for people to share their current location with their friends. The other features that will soon go away from Facebook include Location History, Time Alerts, and Background Location. Facebook has confirmed that May 31, 2022, will be the last date for these location-based features.
Users will have the option to download some data even after the feature is removed. For instance, users can download their location history till August 1, 2022.
Several users have also taken to Twitter and shared messages that notified them about the feature being removed from Facebook.
In case you were wondering if Facebook will not collect users’ location data after this move, then that’s not the case. Facebook has clarified that location data will still be collected for other purposes. There is, however, an option available to not give Facebook access to any of your location data.