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Facebook Draws On Location History To Suggest New Friends

  • Fusion, Monday, June 27, 2016 4:46 PM

Facebook is now incorporating geolocation data into its "People You May Know" feature, which suggests new friends for users.“People You May Know are people on Facebook that you might know,” a Facebook spokesperson told Fusion. “We show you people based on mutual friends, work and education information, networks you’re part of, contacts you’ve imported and many other factors.”

"One of those factors is smartphone location," writes Fusion's Kashmir Hill, who warns of potential problems with the company's approach. "There are plenty of scenarios in which Facebook casually connecting you with people because your phones were in the same place at the same time could end disastrously," writes Fusion's Kashmir Hill. "Imagine going to an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, and then getting 'Friend' suggestions the next day for members of the group along with their full names and profile information."

Read the whole story at Fusion »

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