Out of all the amazing things that Facebook can do, location tracking is got to be one of the coolest. Yes, you read it right. You can track someone’s location on Facebook.
We know finding out someone’s location is exciting and creepy at the same time.It’s exciting if you are curious about where your crush lives. However, it’s creepy, if you are realizing now that any stranger can find out about your location too.
Whatever be the case, it is always good to be on the know-how of how things work on Facebook. In this way, you can use this knowledge to easily arrange a meet up with a friend or you can tweak the Facebook settings to avoid falling victim to stalking.
Without further ado, let’s see how location can be tracked via Facebook.
Contents
1) Location tracking by using ‘nearby friends’ feature
One of the best ways to track the location of someone by Facebook is via its ‘nearby friends’ feature. As the name of this feature suggests it enables you to see the location of friends who are located near you.
For the ‘nearby friends’ feature to work, you need to have the location history on. If the location history is off, this method won’t work.
Location tracking on android
- To find out the location of someone via nearby friends’ feature, first, turn on the location or background location tracking service.
- Then at the top right-hand side of the Facebook page, you will see the setting icon or a 3 parallel line symbol. Tap on that and then select the ‘nearby friends’ option.
- Just switch on this option to start seeing your friend’s location.
Location tracking on iPhones
- For location tracking on iOS phones first switch on the ‘Location service.’ Then you have to select the option ‘always.’
- Now, similar to the case of an android phone, tap on the 3 parallel lines icon from the top right-hand corner.
- After that, choose the ‘nearby friends’ option, you may even have to select the ‘see more’ option.
- At the top right-hand side of the page find a gear symbol and tap on it.
- Now, you will find a toggle to switch on and off the location tracking.
The nearby friends feature is only available on smartphones. It won’t work from a PC or laptop.
Note that, by using this feature you can only get an approximate location of the person. You won’t get the exact location.
2) Location tracking via Live Location Sharing
Facebook has recently updated its messenger app. This update enables people to share their live location with the people on their friend list. After sharing the live location, the friend will be able to track the person for almost 1 hour.
According to Facebook, the most common question asked by users on messenger is how far the other person is. Observing this, the Facebook team came up with this live location sharing option.
The live location on messenger can be shared with unlimited people on the app.
Follow the below-given instructions to share your live location with friends.
- Tap on the friend with whom you want to share your location.
- Then select the ‘more’ button.
- From the menu, tap on the ‘Location’ option.
- Now, a map will pop up showing you your present location. You will find a blue color bar along with the map. Tap on it to share it with your friend.
- If you wish to stop the live location tracking at any time just tap the ‘stop sharing’ button on the map. This will immediately stop your live location sharing.
With the live location tracking map, you can also see the time left for the tracking on the stopwatch. If you do not want to share live location tracking you can also go with sharing a static map.
Another method by which you can find someone’s location on Facebook is by using the location tags and hashtags. One way of doing this is by looking at the person’s Facebook stories.
Facebook stories usually have a location tag. If the tag is on, you can find out the location of the person by tapping on it and opening the map.
Tap on the location tag text. This will redirect you to Google maps where you will be able to see the person’s location.
There are two big drawbacks of finding the location of a person through location tags. First, the location shown on the Facebook story may not be current and second, since a user can manually give a location they may not have given the correct one.
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4) Location tracking via third-party apps
When the above methods have not yielded the desired results you may choose to use third-party apps. However, note that using third-party apps to know someone’s location without their consent falls under privacy invasion. Be sure if you really want to use this method to find the location.
There are various third-party online services available that can help you in finding a person’s location. One such service is that of IPLogger.
You just have to go to IPLogger and select a tracking option. After your selection, you will need to generate a URL and copy the IPLogger code.
Now, you just have to get your friend to click on this URL. You can send them this URL via messenger. Once the person clicks on it, a second URL will be generated which will enable you to see this person’s location.
Final Thoughts
We live in the digital age where finding someone’s location is no longer that difficult. You just need to know the tricks. No hi-tech equipment and sophisticated hacking skills are required.
Most of the methods mentioned here require you to be a friend of the person first. This is because Facebook doesn’t allow private information of its users to be shared with strangers.
You should use these tricks to arrange a meet up with someone without any hassles or for helping someone.
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