Facebook working on location-tracking app, report says
Facebook is working on a new mobile app that could track a user’s location even when the phone isn’t being used.
The app would allow users to find each other using the GPS capabilities of their devices, a Bloomberg Businessweek reported Monday.
Unlike Facebook’s current mobile app, which allows users to let others know where they are by “checking in” at a restaurant or a landmark, the new app would continuously track the user once the app is activated.
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The app would help Facebook generate more revenue from ads based on users’ locations and their daily habits, the report says.
Facebook is hoping to release the location-tracking app in mid-March, according to the report, which cites two unnamed sources.
Before the app could track users’ whereabouts, they would first need to download it and would probably need to give the app permission to track them, to according Bloomberg Businessweek. Nonetheless, the app could raise privacy concerns.
Facebook could not be reached for comment on the report.
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