Gloss How-To: Use the New Facebook ‘Places’ Feature

Posted on August 19, 2010 by Jennifer Latkiewicz

Last night, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his team finally announced the long-awaited Places, a new geo-location app that allows users to check in and update their Wall, friends’ News Feeds and Places page with their location. Users will also be able to leave comments, ‘Like’ each place  and tag friends so they can be a part of the update.

The new feature will be available both as an iPhone app that will be available starting today and on the touch mobile site. Facebook does have plans to roll out Places apps for Android and BlackBerry but there are no specific release dates yet.

Here’s a quick rundown on how Facebook places works:

Log On

Go to Places iPhone application or, if you have a different device,  log onto the touch mobile site on a supported mobile browser. Once you’ve opened Places, you’ll see a prompt asking if Facebook can be allowed to know your location. Click “Allow” and your location will be posted to the Places page, your Wall and friends’ News Feeds.

Checking In

Check-in to existing locations by tapping “Check In”. You’ll also be able to add new locations, find out where your friends are (if they’re using Places), browse status updates of friends checked in nearby or tap “Here Now” to see who else is checked in where you are. If you’re with friends, you can tag the people with you (if they use Places) and check in for the entire group.

You’ll also be able to check in to Facebook Places using Foursquare, Gowalla, Yelp and a new “location-based social game” from Booyah.

Privacy Settings

You can keep your check-in location private by clicking “Not Now” instead of “Allow” but if more people check-in, Facebook will recommend it be made public. The default settings will make your check-ins visible to your friends but you can go to your account’s privacy settings and change your Places “Place I Check In” setting to “Everyone” or “Friends of Friends.” You can also tag your friends’ locations (if they’re using Places) within your check-in photos but if you don’t want to be tagged, disable the setting. You can also remove check-ins from your own profile, and immediately untag yourself if someone else has checked you in without your approval by clicking the “Remove” button.

The main idea behind the new app is to let you see where your friends are, discover new places to visit and share your experiences and places with friends. What do you think about Facebook Places? Do you think you’ll be checking in any time soon?