What Replaces Places? Facebook location sharing updates

With all the recent changes made to Facebook, many users are still confused about the news that Places has been discontinued.  Even social media pros are sending out mixed messages.  So if super-users can't keep all the ins and outs of Facebook's changes straight, it's tough to expect parents to not only know what changes are made, but how does that effect their kids' safety when using it.

Here's a brief overview of the changes:

In short, Facebook Places has been discontinued, but has been replaced with other Facebook- based location services. 

• Before: Facebook Places was a check-in geolocation feature only available on smartphones.  
• Now:  Facebook's mobile app still has a check-in feature, encouraging users to share where they are right now with friends on Facebook.
• Before: No other location based services (LBS) were offered and/or encouraged on Facebook
• Now: Facebook is not only giving mobile users a way to share we they are now, but have added features to show where they've been in the past, and where they're heading in the future.
• Before: Mobile users had the ability to check-in their friends by indicating which of their Facebook friends they were out with. The friend didn't actually have to BE in that location.
• Now:  Mobile and website users have the ability to check-in friends at current locations, and also have the ability to indicate past and future locations on posts/photos/notes/etc.

So yes, Facebook has eliminated the official "Places" feature.  But location based sharing hasn't gone away.  In fact, it's experienced a significant boost.

As a parent, what do you need to be aware of:

• The default privacy setting for location is "off" for minors.  They have to choose to turn it on.
• The tagging feature for posts is set to "review" by default for minors.
• The feature to allow photos to be tagged by others is set to "Friends" and "Friends of Friends" by default for minors.
• To learn more about Facebook's privacy settings for minors, click here.

What does all of that mean?

Facebook does take measures to give minors more privacy.  However, many minors register for Facebook with a false age in order to avoid the increased privacy.  As a parent, it's important to make sure you do the following:

• ABOVE ALL, be sure to maintain open and honest communication with your child.  This goes for ALL aspects of parenting.  Need help learning how? Thriving Family, Time to Talk, and Love & Logic are resources I highly recommend.
• Explain to your child the importance of keeping their location hidden.  By sharing specifics, they open themselves up to online predators.
• Sit down with your child and go through their privacy settings on Facebook.  Make sure they do not have any settings set to "Public."  Ideally, they want their default privacy setting for sharing all information set to "Friends."
• Make sure your child has their correct year of birth set on Facebook.  This ensures their default settings are set to Facebook's standard for minors.
• Finally, make sure your child's privacy settings have the following two controls:
• Tag reviews:  Under privacy settings, turn on the tag review.  This ensures that all photos and posts tagged with their name will have to be approved by them before showing to their friends.
• Location tagging off: Be sure to adjust this setting under the privacy control tab.  You can learn more about location and how to adjust settings by clicking here.

As a parent, it is vital to make sure you are staying on top of the way your kids are communicating online.  How do you handle your child's online presence? With education and open communication.