• A few Android users had expressed concern over the app’s capability to continuously record location data in the background
• Facebook has previously tracked the location of users deemed to be threats

Social media giant Facebook has reportedly announced that it is updating the privacy settings on its Android app which would allow users to prevent the firm from accessing their location. As per trusted sources, the new updates make it easier for users to control what location data is sent to and stored by Facebook.

Reportedly, Facebook made an announcement which mentioned that a few Android users had expressed concern over the app’s capability to continuously record location data in the background. Sources familiar with the development claim that the Facebook app has historically had been collecting and storing data regardless of the user being active or not on the app. This task was made easier owing to Android’s all-or0-nothing system of location permissions relative to iOS.

It is being reported that Android users who had location services enabled were being tracked by Facebook even when they weren’t actively using the Facebook app. The company, which has stopped short of admitting the practice, noted that the choice to toggle location history on enabled it to create a history of precise locations received via Location Services on the users’ devices.

According to a report published by The Verge, an update on iOS is not required as Apple already provides the option to block on app from using the location of the user in the background. However, Facebook has stated that it would send alerts anyway to both Android and iOS users, asking them to review their location settings.

Reportedly, Facebook’s security team has previously used the location service to access the location data of users deemed to be threats. The company has also once used the service to track interns who hadn’t shown up for work.