Ahead of iOS 13, Facebook publishes blog post defending its use of location data in iOS

iOS 13 is set to be released to the public later this month, and Facebook is looking to get out ahead of some of the changes to location settings in the update. Facebook has published a new blog post detailing how iOS 13 affects its access to your location data, while reaffirming that users are “in control” of their location settings.

As we detailed back in June, iOS 13 makes several changes to location data for third-party apps. iOS 13 presents popup notifications when an app is using your location in the background. The notification also shows a map of the location data a specific app has tracked.

From there, users can customize their location preferences for an app, ranging from “always allow” to “allow once.”

Facebook explains in its blog post that ahead of the release of iOS 13, it will “continue to make it easier” for users to control their location settings. The company also notes, however, that it is still able to “understand” a user’s location based on check-ins, internet connectivity information, and more:

You’re in control of who sees your location on Facebook. You can control whether your device shares precise location information with Facebook via Location Services, a setting on your phone or tablet.

We may still understand your location using things like check-ins, events and information about your internet connection.

As CNBC notes, the purpose of Facebook’s blog post is to seemingly get out ahead of any backlash it might face from users knowing more about how the Facebook app is using their location. For instance, once Facebook users see the popup showing how the app is using precise location in the background, they’ll likely want more details on why.

Facebook’s blog post seemingly attempts to answer some questions that users might have. The company, however, isn’t shifting from its belief that “Facebook is better with location.”

Read Facebook’s full blog post here.