Facebook continues to draw inspiration from Snapchat as it tests new location sharing feature

Letting your friends know where you are to have an impromptu meet-up is a nice idea and something that a number of social networks have tried, with varying success.

Facebook views Snapchat’s implementation of the feature as one of the better examples of how it should be done. Given that Facebook’s own attempt to get its user-base sharing their location with friends on the platform, hasn’t been so successful, Facebook is borrowing a few ideas as part of a confirmed test.

If you’re familiar with Snap Map, then you’ll recognise a lot of what appears in the test. Like Snap Map, the new Facebook interface for sharing your location will be an opt-in feature. The important point of difference is where Snap Map can provide specific location details, Facebook has been more cautious and made the location details much broader.

The ‘Nearby Friends’ feature on Facebook was never particularly popular but a lot has changed since it was first introduced. We’re not that far from news of Cambridge Analytica and it was only a few days ago that millions of profiles were affected by a data breach. Expecting users to be receptive to sharing personal information such as their location in real-time while so much negative press coverage is still front of mind seems like poor timing.

It has to be noted that there is a generation of young adults that are so used to data breaches, hacks and misuse of personal data, that they’ve become numb to the warnings and are at the point where they accept it all as part of modern life. They may be right.

It’s also worth noting that this is a test of a new interface which may never be rolled out to the general public. If it is, then you can expect that somewhere down the line, marketers would be able to dynamically geo-target their audience, further enhancing the effectiveness of advertising on Facebook.

Latest Posts

You may have planning hats on for early 2024 – but before you put that plan in action to wind away the weeks before Christmas, read these 5 tips for your next B2B social campaign! Consider them as B2B social solutions. You may have caught our latest…
Read More
Staying updated on the ever-evolving social media world can be challenging. Here are the latest highlights: X announces the return of post deadlines X introduces the reinstatement of post headlines within in-stream link previews. In October, X made the decision to remove post headlines and preview text, altering how publications…
Read More
In Social Media, organic efforts can only take you so far. While they are vital, the secret sauce to elevate your brand's social presence lies in embracing the dynamic duo of organic and paid social ads. Why? Because the two work better together!
Read More