Facebook App updated to include Places

The ability to “check in” to places has been a popular social trend for a while now, largely thanks to apps such as Foursquare [iTunes] and Loopt [iTunes]. With check ins being posted to the social streams of users on Facebook and Twitter, it is no surprise that the social networking giants have followed suit. Twitter enabled geolocation services several months ago, making Facebook the late player to the game.

“Who, What, When, and Now…Where” read Facebook’s announcement for Places, the new service which allows users to check in and keep Facebook friends informed in real time what is going on. The service even allows users to share what friends are there with you.

As Facebook continues to evolve it has received much criticism over its privacy feature, or lack there of. Has Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg finally learned his lesson with user privacy? Not entirely it would appear, however some of the more public options are not enabled by default.

To check your settings for Places or to disable the service, log into Facebook and select the Privacy Settings form the account drop down menu. This displays your current privacy settings. If custom is not selected already, you will need to select that and then click the customize settings link. There are three settings here related to Places. The first two settings appear under “Things I Share” and allow you to see who can see your check ins as well as weather or not to include you in the list of people checked into an area. The third setting is under “Things others share” and controls the ability for your friends to check you into places.

Still need a bit of help? Lifehacker has put together a video that demonstrates how to disable the Places feature on Facebook.

Check ins may allows friends to see where everyone is, however using social media can provides significant opportunities for businesses. Foursquare has partnered with a number of businesses to allow special deals for check ins. Chili’s Bar & Grill offered free chips and salsa to anyone checked in, and Starbucks offered a $1 discount on any Frapachino to the location’s “mayor.”

Afraid that with Facebook joining in the geolocation scene that it might kill off your favorite service? Don’t worry, Facebook gas announced that they will be partnering with Yelp, Foursquare, Gowalla and other services to allow for integrated information sharing with Facebook places.

You can access Places using the latest version of the Facebook iPhone app [iTunes] or by visiting touch.facebook.com from any mobile devices that supports HTML 5 and geolocation services. The service has not been enabled in all areas.

Facebook Places Screenshots