Facebook Accepted to Track Your Location Even if You Say No or Turn Off Location Services

Summary: Facebook has accepted that it uses the location-related information of the users even after he switched off the location services. It uses the two other ways of getting the user’s mobile location through IP addresses and posts and statuses.

Facebook, in its recent letter to senators, has accepted that it tracks the user’s location even after a user explicitly switches off the location services for Facebook and all its related applications. This surprising information comes through the acceptance by Facebook in a letter to senators. Two senators Mr. Christopher Coons (D-Del.) and Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) made pressure on Facebook to disclose the company’s location tracking policies. They had asked Facebook how the company obtained the location information of its users and whether they continue even after users opt-out the location information.

The company’s deputy chief privacy officer, Rob Sherman, wrote a letter and told that Facebook tracks the user’s location with two other ways even after the user doesn’t give permission or switched off the permission.

The first way is the only way in which Facebook gets permission from users to track their locations. If users don’t allow them, then they go on second ways, which is to follow the user’s post, status, and get tagged in to determine where the user is. Like if a user is traveling to a particular location, hotel check-ins, and visit any restaurants. If this method also not work for them, then they go for the third method, which is tracking the device’s IP address to find the location of the user, tells the approximate location of the user.

Facebook says it runs the facebook ads to generate revenue, and many ad types require the location information of a user to serve the advertisements.  

Coons and Hawley, on Tuesday, both senators have criticized Facebook’s response that says even after the user’s disapproval company track his or her location for making money.

Coons called Facebook’s efforts, “insufficient and even misleading.”

“Facebook claims that users are in control of their own privacy, but in reality, users aren’t even given an option to stop Facebook from collecting and monetizing their location information,” Coons said. “The American people deserve to know how tech companies use their data, and I will continue working to find solutions to protect Americans’ sensitive information.” 

Hawley recently sat down with Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook CEO) and tweeted, “There is no opting out. No control over your personal information. That’s Big Tech. And that’s why Congress needs to take action.”