Facebook Places comes to UK


17 Sep 2010

Facebook Places has launched in the UK today, following its launch in the US last month and Japan last week.

The rollout started this morning and it will become available to all UK users within the next few days.

It will be available through the Facebook iPhone app or through Facebook’s mobile site, touch.facebook.com.

Facebook Places allows users to “check in” themselves and their friends to locations they’re currently in, in order to share where they are to their friends or recommend new places they have discovered.

Due to the nature of this service, Facebook has focused on maintaining user privacy with its launch.

It’s an opt-in service, so users can specify whether or not they wish to be a part of this service.

Users can also choose whether or not they want to allow someone to tag them when a friend has checked into a location with them.

Check-ins are also defaulted to “friends only.”

Facebook has also developed separate protection for minors. Only a minor’s friend will ever see when the minor checks in. They are also restricted in the ‘Here Now’ section so that they will only ever show up to their friends.

Facebook has said it will bring the service to Ireland soon, but does not have a specific date at this stage.