Despite recent news reports, Facebook this week said it does not use location data to suggest friends.
The controversy started when Fusion last week spoke with a Facebook user concerned that the social network used his smartphone location to dig up potential online friends. The man had gone to an event, and was surprised to find that someone from that event, who he didn't really know, showed up as a "Person You May Know" on Facebook next day.
When questioned, Facebook told Fusion that location is "one of the factors we use to suggest people you may know." Because, the company clarified, location information alone doesn't indicate two people might be friends.
Fusion's take on the news—"Facebook is using your phone's location to suggest new friends—which could be a privacy disaster"—stirred up outrage among users who were upset that Facebook was using their data without telling them, and potentially exposing their identity to strangers.
Facebook later told told Fusion that, in fact, location details aren't currently used.
"We're not using location data, such as device location and location information you add to your profile, to suggest people you may know," a Facebook spokeswoman told PCMag today. "We may show you people based on mutual friends, work and education information, networks you are part of, contacts you've imported and other factors."
At one point, city-level location data was a factor in Facebook's friend-suggestion algorithm. But, according to New York Magazine's Select All, the feature was used only temporarily among a small test group, and never rolled out to the general public.
Facebook tested a similar feature in June 2012, but quickly ditched it, reportedly after fielding a complaint from startup Friendthem, which offered a similar service.
In 2014, Facebook also launched Nearby Friends on iOS and Android, but the opt-in feature only alerts you to the location of people with whom you were already friends.