Facebook is testing out a new feature that lets you discover new Facebook friends who are nearby.
If you were in a bar, for example, and wanted to find out who was around you or add someone you just met, navigate to the "Find Friends Nearby" feature to find their profile.
"People who appear above are nearby and have this page open," according to the Friends Nearby page. "To add a friend who's not on the list, ask them to open this page: fb.com/ffn. They should appear on the list shortly."
When asked about the feature, a Facebook spokeswoman said "we are constantly testing new features but have nothing more to share at this time."
The feature will likely pique the interest of privacy advocates. The Facebook spokeswoman declined to elaborate on the security aspects of the tool, but it appears that you will only appear on someone's "Nearby" list if you have the fb.com/ffn page open.
In the comments section of TechCrunch, which first reported the story, Facebook software engineer Ryan Patterson said he built Find Friends Nearby with another engineer as part of a hackathon project.
"While it was originally called 'Friendshake', we settled on 'Find Friends Nearby' for launch," Patterson wrote.
"For me, the ideal use case for this product is the one where when you're out with a group of people whom you've recently met and want to stay in contact with," he continued. "Facebook search might be effective, or sharing your vanity addresses or business cards, but this tool provides a really easy way to exchange contact information with multiple people with minimal friction."
To access on the Facebook iPhone app, go to the "Find Friends" menu on the left-hand menu bar, select "Other Tools," and "Find Friends Nearby." When I first navigated to the site, Facebook asked for permission to access my location. Once granted, about a half dozen people showed up on my list, none of whom I recognized. A plus button on the right provided the option to add them as friends. It's unclear how "nearby" they were.
As TechCrunch pointed out, the release comes about two months after Facebook acquired social location application Glancee. Glancee, the iOS and Android application, allowed users to find new friends based on their current locations.
Facebook currently allows people to "check in" to events or locations based on location.
For more, see PCMag's When Facebook Gets Creepy slideshow below.
UPDATE: CNET reported this afternoon that Facebook disabled "Find Friends Nearby" after fielding a complaint from startup Friendthem, which offers a similar service. Indeed, the service appears to be inaccessible as of Monday afternoon.
When asked for comment, a Facebook spokeswoman said only that Find Friends Nearby "wasn't a formal release - this was something that a few engineers were testing. With all tests, some get released as full products, others don't. Nothing more to say on this for now – we'll communicate to everyone when there is something to say."
Friendthem did not immediately respond to a request for comment.