Apple just made it easier to stalk, er, find your friends. The updated Find My Friends app now features the flexibility to choose the geographical area about which you want to be notified.
The update, which Cupertino vaguely explains as a "new UI to search for and set location-based notifications," hit the App Store Thursday, and requires iOS 6.1 or later. It allows customizable geo-fences that can be adjusted by clicking the "Change Location" button, which will allow you to be notified if a friend enters or exits a particular location.
Find My Friends is Apple's way of helping users easily locate nearby friends and family via iCloud. Users can see each other's whereabouts, and can share their location with a group of friends for a limited time. Cupertino suggests that people use the app to keep track of traveling companions while on vacation, or to find out if the kids made it home from school.
Location-based alerts were introduced last fall, allowing users to be notified when, say, a family member arrives at the office; it also notifies others about your location. But the ability for friends to set alerts without your knowledge takes the privacy out of life. How comfortable would you be with your ex-boyfriend getting notifications every time you enter or leave your favorite restaurant?
According to Ars Technica, Apple also added the ability to search for and add other places (the airport, another friend's house, etc.) to your notifications list.
The free application is available now for the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. The main app runs on iOS 5 and above, but location-based alerts require iOS 6 and the new, more specific location-based notifications need iOS 6.1.