Facebook: Deactivate "People you may know"
Facebook uses your smartphone's location data to show you the "people you may know". We'll show you how to disable the feature.
Facebook: "People you may know" uses location data
Under the category of friendship requests, Facebook also shows you suggestions from people you might know from the social network perspective. For a long time it was unclear what information Facebook used to determine the often applicable suggestions. Now it is clear: Facebook is tracking your location data.
- For example, a man discovered Facebook's spying method after attending an anonymous youth suicide meeting, Fusion reported.
- When he opened Facebook the next morning, he found one of the anonymous participants in his Facebook suggestions.
- A Facebook spokesman then admitted that the company used the location data of the users in addition to mutual friends, work and education information and cell phone contacts to determine the suggestions.
Disable "People You May Know" on Android
If you do not want Facebook to access your location, you can easily deactivate the authorization.
- Under Android 6.0 Marshmallow, the feature can be deactivated in the "Application Manager", which is hidden in the settings under the "Applications" tab.
- In the "Application Manager" click on "Facebook" and then on "Permissions".
- To deactivate the Facebook feature, uncheck "Location" on.
Disable "People You May Know" on iOS
You can also deactivate location sharing for Facebook on your iPhone.
- To do this, open the settings and select the "Data protection" tab.
- Now click on "Location Services" and then on "Facebook".
- Finally, check "Never" to disable location access for Facebook.