It’s actually impossible to track someone’s location on Facebook in real-time. And otherwise, I guess you could:
- Ask the other person where they’re currently at
- Look at the location hashtags on their posts
That’s really all you can do. I know, disappointing…
There used to be a “Nearby Friends” feature that let you track your friend’s location, but Facebook removed it on June 2022.
If you want to learn more about this, check out my guide below!
Summary: While it's impossible to track someone's real-time location on Facebook, you can still use location hashtags on their posts or ask them to share their location via Messenger.
Facebook used to have a "Nearby Friends" feature, but it was removed in June 2022 due to privacy concerns.
Be cautious of online tools that claim to track Facebook friends' locations, as they are likely scams.
If you have any questions about location tracking on Facebook, feel free to leave a comment in the article.
Use Their Post Hashtags
The only official way of tracking your friends on Facebook without them knowing about it is to use the location hashtags on their posts.
Sometimes, people will place location hashtags or tag specific locations when they post pictures on Facebook.
That’s to let people know where they were when they took that picture. You can use this to track your friends on Facebook.
You won’t be able to do it in real-time, though. You’ll only know someone’s current location if you happen to be on Facebook when they post that picture.
But if you see the post an hour after being published, that location won’t be accurate anymore. They’ll have moved from that location in the meantime.
Moreover, Facebook doesn’t have a Facebook Map like Snapchat, where you can see your friends’ geo-location in real-time or semi-real time.
Can I Use Online Tools?
I wouldn’t recommend you use online tools to track your friends on Facebook. These tools won’t work and may instead steal your information.
Even though some tools may guarantee accurate results, don’t use them. They’re all scams that are trying to bait you.
Ask Your Friend to Share Their Location
Another way of finding the location of your Facebook friend is by asking them to share it with you. But you still won’t be able to keep tracking their position without their knowledge.
Facebook Messenger has a ” Location ” feature that lets you share a live location with someone else on Messenger.
You can also select the period you want to share the location with the other person. For instance, your friend could share their live location for 60 minutes.
This means you’ll be able to see them in real-time on the map for 60 minutes. After this period expires, you won’t be able to track them unless they share the location again.
Why Did Facebook Remove the “Nearby Friends” Feature?
Privacy and data protection rights have become increasingly important in recent years.
There have been more crackdowns on privacy-invasive features for many companies, which prompted Facebook and many others to eliminate some of their features.
One of these features was “Nearby Friends“. Even though you couldn’t track someone’s location without their permission, people might have forgotten to disable it after enabling it.
At that point, anyone could track their real-life location with this feature. Instead of trying to modify the feature to make it temporary, Facebook opted to remove it entirely.
What’s more, they’re unlikely to bring it back because privacy will become even more important.
If you have any questions about tracking your friend on Facebook, leave a comment below, and I’ll try to help you as best I can!
