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How To Use Facebook Places

So you’ve spent the weekend watching your friends check in from various places around the world and it’s showing up in your news feed but you can’t figure out how to check-in somewhere yourself. Have no fear, we’ve created this comprehensive guide to help you get up and running and sharing your location.

What Is Facebook Places?

As we covered last week when Facebook Places first launched, Places enables Facebook users to share where they are located at any point with their friends. Why would you want to let your friends know where you are? There are a few reasons. The most obvious is that when you check in somewhere, Facebook will let you know immediately which of your friends have checked in near you. As is displayed in the video below, it enables serendipity.

How Can You Start Checking In Now?

Whether or not you want to share where you are located, you should at least give it a shot to see what value can be gained from using the service. Right now Facebook Places is limited to U.S. users only, and requires having a smartphone, such as an iPhone, Android, or Blackberry. If you don’t have an iPhone, you can visit the Facebook touch website in order to check in on your smartphone device.

The gallery below displays how to check in on both the Facebook touch website as well as within the iPhone application.

• As the screenshot above depicts, when you visit http://touch.facebook.com, you will see the “Places” tab once the feature is available to you. To get started just click on this tab.

  Facebook Touch, Places Available

• Once you click on the Places tab you will see the option to share where you are and a list of friends who have displayed their location below. Just click on “Share where you are” and if your browser supports it, you will be brought through the location sharing process.

  Facebook Places Share (Touch)

• If you have an iPhone, you get to use a newly updated version of the Facebook application. Make sure you’ve installed the latest update and you should see the “Places” icon as highlighted above.

  Facebook Places (iPhone)

• After clicking on Places you will be brought to a page which displays all of your friends latest locations. In order to share your location click on the “Check In” button. If it isn’t displaying, try logging out first and then logging back in.

  Friends’ Places (iPhone)

• A list of locations will be displayed, most likely including the place that you are at. Simply click on the correct location. If your location isn’t displayed, try searching for it. If it still doesn’t show up, you can add the place by clicking the plus (“+”) sign in the top right.

  Select Location (iPhone)

• The next page will show the location on a map and prompt you to enter details about what you are doing. Once you’ve entered any information that you want to, just click the “Check In” button.

  Location Check In (iPhone)

• After checking in, you may possibly receive a notification like the one above, telling you about friends who checked in at a nearby location.

  Location Notifications

How Do You Protect Yourself While Using Places?

Want to stay safe while using Facebook Places? There are a number of things you can do, all of which are highlighted in our Facebook Places privacy guide. The primary thing that you’ll learn from our privacy guide is how to avoid being “accidentally” tagged by others in random locations, as well as how to avoid having anybody who’s at a specific venue see when you’ve checked in there.

How To Use Facebook Places For Business

The last thing that you may want to use Facebook Places for is a way to let others interact with your business on the Facebook. As such, Facebook has enabled businesses to claim a location as their own. We recently highlighted how to accomplish this in our guide, “How To Use Facebook Places For Business“. Facebook requires that businesses go through a verification process to ensure that the Place being claimed is their own. Once completed, you can control the information which is displayed within the Facebook Places page.

Anything Else?

That’s pretty much all there is to Facebook Places for the time being. If you have any other questions about the product, feel free to ask them in the comments and we’ll be sure to update this guide!

  Tags:Guides, Places

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20 Comments »

1. This new privacy nightmare is playing right into the hands of stalkers, kidnappers, and other wrong doers. Now people don't have to hire a detective to find someone. Big brother is peeking around the corner.

   Comment by JoAnne Schlicker — August 23, 2010 @ 12:14 pm

2. I still haven't been able to claim our business. I've sent the certificate of incorporation and everything and still no word from Facebook!

   Comment by Richard — August 23, 2010 @ 1:20 pm

3. wowww! incredible… in spain still don't works

   Comment by Desarrollo aplicacio — August 24, 2010 @ 6:16 am

4. [...] do take the time to read these strategies for how to use Facebook Places safely – and pass it on to your friends and family. Personally I also try to keep my street address [...]

   Pingback by Facebook Places could make you a target for theft — September 10, 2010 @ 2:05 pm

5. Maybe I missed this, but once you claim a Facebook Places Page, how can you merge it with an existing Official Page? I claimed the Places Page for Inbound Zombie and Facebook went ahead and created a completely separate Page… You'd think that Facebook would allow merging to accommodate this seemingly common situation. You'd also think that Facebook would build in conditional logic into the process: "This user has a Facebook Page with the same exact name as their existing Facebook Page".

   Comment by @johnhaydon — September 14, 2010 @ 6:21 am

6. This informations seems inaccurate. I own both a Pre and Bbry Tour and niether one allows you to "Check-in" the Places tab is visible and when I touch it, I do see my friends but it shows no option as this article states for me to check in and both my browsers WebOS and Blackberry are updated.

   Comment by Renato — October 6, 2010 @ 1:54 am

7. [...] very recently, members of the U.S. armed forces have been allowed to tote around cell phones with Facebook Places enabled. The Navy has recently circulated a document asking personnel to rid their mobile devices [...]

   Pingback by U.S. Military Warns Against Facebook Places — November 18, 2010 @ 5:57 pm

8. im pretty sure facebook isnt forcing anyone to use this application so calm the eff down about privacy. if you dont want your information shared with people dont use the internet for social networking. DUH.

   Comment by Guest — November 19, 2010 @ 11:47 pm

9. my comment below was for you. it says something like "facebook isnt forcing anyone to use the places application and if you dont want your information easiliy accessible for these stalkers and wrongdoers then dont use the interent for social networking". and if you are so serious about this privacy nightmare then dont let your kids use it either. its not that hard. you make it sound like its a huge terrible conspiracy and facebook is out to get you. also, no one forces you to be friends with people on facebook, you confirm or deny your friendship with them, also facebook offers about a zillion different custom ways for you to design your page around your preference of privacy levels. you can even hide certain information from people who ARE confirmed as a friend. Try to educate yourself in this new generational phenomenon. I have yet to hear about the "tragic event that was made possible by facebook places."

   Comment by Guest — November 19, 2010 @ 11:51 pm

10. how do you use it when this little purple arrow is on the top right corner (ipod touch used via wifi)

    Comment by guest — November 26, 2010 @ 10:52 pm

11. Everytime I try to use places I get the message…. Your location is temporarily not available…and it will not let me do anything….

    Comment by Tina — January 19, 2011 @ 5:12 pm

12. I used the 'Places' App on Facebook 2 nights ago for the first time ever 'Checking in' to the Movies and I came home to my house broken into!! First and last time I will ever use it!!! All my setting are set to Only friends can view Sooooooo…. its very sad that a friend of mine has probably done it…. I actually checked in as I was leaving the movies so I came home and scared them off, so they didnt get a hell of a lot thank goodness, but my 5 year old daughters favourite Christmas present (Wii) was stolen and she is extreemly distressed… (I know I scared them off because they took the Nintendo Wii but left all the games remotes etc and the Sensor bar cord was half hanging out the window)

    I ADVISE PEOPLE NOT TO USE THIS APPLICATION IF YOUR HOUSE IS GOING TO BE LEFT EMPTY WITH NO ONE ELSE HOME!!!

    Comment by Charmaine — January 21, 2011 @ 11:28 pm

13. I think it's just the begining but it's great!

    Comment by Gerard — April 7, 2011 @ 11:48 am

14. why cant i go to the touchsite anymore? whenever i do , it automaticaly goes to the mobile facebook page. Also does the same thing if i try and go to the full site with my phone. Why is it doing this? And it doesnt have places in my mobile site

    Comment by fiona — May 16, 2011 @ 7:50 pm

15. touch.facebook.com not working now

    Comment by dawid — May 17, 2011 @ 7:45 am

16. How do I add a place to check in from? I can only see a list of the local places other people have created. My phone is an HTC Wildfire.

    Comment by Kev — May 17, 2011 @ 3:11 pm

17. i have the same problem, the bar at the top on the picture doesn't come up on mine. it just has a list of places my friends have checked into…. strange

    Comment by hmh — May 19, 2011 @ 11:10 am

18. Same thing happens to me no matter what I do:o(

    Comment by Emma — May 20, 2011 @ 2:11 am

19. if you have Ipod or Iphone go to settings > Location services > Facebook > on

    Comment by nami — September 10, 2011 @ 12:05 am

20. if your cell is iphone or you"re using your ipod go to >Settings > Location Services > facebook > on

    Comment by nami — September 10, 2011 @ 12:09 am

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