The company asserts that knowing a user’s general location benefits their advertising strategies by showing ads for nearby shops, protecting accounts from hackers and combatting misinformation; but also presents potential criminal prosecution risks.

Facebook parent Meta reportedly tracks iPhone locations even when people disable its tracking mode – this “Big Brother surveillance” may occur without their knowledge or consent.

How to trace a person’s location on Facebook

Facebook provides many ways for its users to share their real-time locations on the site. They can do this via nearby friend alerts or through its background location feature. Furthermore, trace Facebook user ip address users may reveal their whereabouts through clues such as being tagged in photos at specific places or using check-ins on its mobile app.

Facebook recently came under scrutiny for tracking iPhone users even when they disabled Big Brother surveillance features, according to Forbes. According to Forbes, this secret tracking is performed without the user’s awareness or consent.

Google Maps

Google quietly introduced a feature this fall allowing people to track the movements of friends on a map, sparking privacy concerns but insists they are doing nothing illegal and users have the option of opting-out of using this service at any time. Furthermore, friends must consent for tracking purposes to take place; Google allows them to opt out at any time if desired.

Google Maps’ feature “Mark My Location,” available since 2007, lets mobile phone users mark a point on a map where they are, then share it with others. “Follow,” an update introduced this year to add social features to its application, is part of Google’s long-term plan to develop an online mapping system which will help people locate businesses, read reviews, view photos and obtain information quickly and efficiently.

Users have expressed alarm at Facebook’s new tracking, calling it an invasion of privacy and likening it to Big Brother keeping an eye on them at every turn. In a letter addressed to US senators, Facebook acknowledged its apps track user locations even when users disable this setting; but maintained this was necessary in providing services like protecting accounts and fighting misinformation.

However, tracking is unavoidable when you use a smartphone with GPS enabled. Even when location services are turned off on your device, some aspects of your activity such as opening an app and clicking messages still get tracked. The best way to prevent tracking from taking place would be forgoing smartphones altogether; but there are other methods you can employ to evade being followed around.

Since news of Facebook’s secret tracking on iPhones surfaced last week, users are being encouraged to delete the “Marauder’s Map,” an application developed using data embedded within messages sent through Facebook Messenger to create detailed profiles on each friend and pinpoint their current locations in real-time. As of Friday morning it has been removed from Apple App Store but can continue functioning up until December 1. After then it will no longer work.

Apple Maps

Facebook recently provided US senators with an explanation on how it can track users even after they opt-out of being tracked by it. Knowing where people are helps the social media giant do everything from showing ads for nearby shops to fighting hackers and dispelling misinformation – although Facebook stated it’s unfair for it to be held liable unless users specifically opt-in themselves.

iOS 14.5’s App Tracking Transparency feature contains this new addition, which requires developers to seek permission before tracking users and includes tools that let people identify which applications are tracking them and share any data that might be collected from them. Unfortunately, Apple Maps still trails Google in terms of accuracy and features.

No matter if you’re driving or walking, Apple Maps allows you to share your estimated arrival time (ETA) in multiple ways. Choose a contact from your phone contact list, or browse from a list of pre-built destinations like “Gas Station,” “Breakfast,” and “Coffee.” Furthermore, Mobility Data Trends tools offer assistance in helping communities prepare for COVID-19 compliance by analyzing traffic patterns and providing insight to local governments.

Meta Platforms, the owner of Facebook, reached a preliminary settlement worth $37.5 million with regard to allegations it violated people’s privacy by tracking their location through smartphones. The judge must still approve this preliminary agreement to fully settle all of California law and Meta’s own privacy policies that were broken by their company.

Apple’s one-year-old Maps falls far behind Google in every respect. Not only can users struggle to locate and discover things with Apple Maps, they often struggle to navigate as easily. This is especially evident when trying to locate restaurants or businesses; for instance if searching “korean chinese restaurants”, Apple may display results miles from your current location due to using an external database like Yelp for search results while Google uses its own data to pinpoint local options more precisely.

Microsoft Maps

Facebook noted that understanding a user’s general location helps safeguard accounts by detecting suspicious login behavior and fighting misinformation by tracing its source, such as politically charged posts from Europe that isn’t typically targeted at one country. Clues include being tagged in photos taken at certain places or checking-in via social media services; devices connected to the internet also typically have IP addresses which specify their locations; this may only indicate town/city boundaries for mobile phones connecting via telecom networks.

Facebook recently announced it will no longer permit friends to share their location through Messenger starting May 31st; it will still collect this data for other experiences on its platform. Furthermore, they plan on discontinuing the feature that allowed people to view nearby friends’ locations in mobile app and track real-time tracking of iOS messages sent between friends; likely as a response to a Harry-Potter inspired tool called Marauders Map that collates location data exchanged among friends in Messenger and displays it onto a map.