Facebook will allow Android users to disable its location data

FACEBOOK DECIDED OF POLICE allowing Android users to prevent their app from absorbing their location when it's not open.

This is part of an update of Facebook's privacy controls. Paul McDonald, technical director of Facebook's infrastructure division, said that this would give Android users more control over how Facebook collects and stores their data.

"We are introducing a new background tracking control on Facebook for Android so that users can choose whether they want us to collect location information when they are not using it." application, "said McDonald.

"For example, when people choose to use Friends Nearby, a feature that allows friends to share their positions, they allow Facebook to access their position even when they do not use the ### 39; application.

"Until today, people using these features were asked to turn on Location History." If you enable this setting, two things happen: you share your location when you do not use the application and you allow Facebook to store a history of your Thanks to this update, you will have a specific way to choose whether to share your position when you do not use it the application. "

So Facebook essentially allows its users to more granularly control how their location data is swallowed up.

And McDonald pointed out that the changes would not upset any previous privacy choices made by Android app users. There is therefore no chance for Facebook to sneakily activate a series of data collections under the pretext of an update.

What is a bit ironic is that the move comes shortly after. CNBC reported that Facebook was using location information to search for users considered to be threatening, as well as to track missing trainees; we had one of those who call Jason … he has not been seen since 2016.

It is worth noting that Facebook has indicated that it only used tracking Android app users in the background if they had a feature called "Location History" ".

Nevertheless, these policy changes make the whole thing more explicit and give users more control; 2018 pointed out that the company did not always seem to have the best understanding of its users' data to guarantee the confidentiality and the transparent use of the data. μ