By default, Facebook knows your location all the time. So deactivate the location history without delay to avoid being tracked by the social network, because it will soon no longer be possible!
Recently, Facebook circulated on its mobile applications a message very – too much? – low-key announcing that Weather and Nearby Friends alerts were going to disappear after May 31, 2022, as would Location History and Background Location. Yes, if you didn’t know, Facebook constantly records your location, especially if you use the mobile application – this is also the case in the web version for desktop, even if the information is mainly used to detect unusual connections, therefore suspicious.
The latest notifications from Facebook are very clear (French mistakes included): “Update your location settings if you no longer want to share your location history or background location. These settings will be disabled and you will not be able to see or update them after May 31, 2022. “ Facebook also states: “You can access and download your location history until August 1, 2022 in Access your information. After August 1, 2022, any location history or background location information that you have already shared will be deleted .” But a worrying detail: “Otherwise, Facebook will continue to collect location information for other experiences…” Clearly, the social network explains that it will still collect location data, but without specifying what or who they will be used for. When we remember the various scandals that have splattered the Meta platform – the name of Mark Zuckerberg’s company, which owns both Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp – regarding the use of personal data, there is reason to ‘worry.
Fortunately, on desktop and mobile, it is very easy to deactivate Facebook’s location history, which can rightly be perceived as a geo-tracking tool. If you haven’t already done so, now is the time to act before it’s too late.
How to turn off Facebook location history on computer?
Managing location history is done in Facebook settings. You just need to know where the function is.
► Connect to your Facebook account with your usual web browser, then either on the home page or on your profile, click on the top right on thee triangle pointing down.
► In the drop-down menu that opens, click on Settings and Privacy.
► Then click on Settings.
► In the pane on the left, click on Location.
► You now have access to the Location settings.
► Right click on To modify to choose whether to turn location history on or off for your mobile devices, then tap Close when your choice is made. To access the history in question, simply click on View location historyalso on the right.
► Location is disabled.
► To access your Facebook information (if you want to download it, for example), just click on Your Facebook Information, in the same drop-down menu on the left that you used to access Location. A drop-down menu Your Facebook Information then opens to the right.
How to turn off Facebook location history on mobile?
Of course, you can disable Facebook location history by going to the settings of the mobile application. As often on Facebook, manipulations on mobile are neither more complicated nor simpler than on computer, just different.
► Log in to your Facebook account with the app, and press Menu on the right of the screen, at the top on Android, at the bottom on iPhone or iPad.
► Scroll down the drop-down menu that opens and tap Settings and Privacy.
► Then press Settings.
► Scroll down the drop-down menu that opens, to the submenu Permissions.
► Then press Location. You then have access to Location serviceswhich you can choose to activate always, never, or between the two, only when the Facebook application is active.
► Just below in the drop-down of Location settingsyou can access theLocation history.
► Press Location historythen on the associated switch to activate it or not.
► If you activate it, you access various parameters.
► And you can press View location history to view it.
► Finally, to access your personal information (to download it, for example), return to the menu Settingsand explore the section Your informations which gives you several options.
