Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority
Some Facebook users like to share everything, including where they’ve been and where they are now. This is called “checking in,” and by allowing Facebook to access your current location from your phone or computer, your location can be displayed anywhere on your Facebook page on a map for everyone to see. It’s a private detective’s dream. Who needs to knock on doors to find someone when you can just watch their real-time movements update on their Facebook page? This is how you check in on Facebook.
Read more: Using Facebook – everything you need to know
RAPID RESPONSE
To check in to Facebook, you’ll first need to make sure that location services are enabled on your phone or computer and that you’ve allowed Facebook to access that location data. Open Facebook, open a new status update window and select Check in. Facebook gives you a list of nearby locations. Choose one and it will be inserted into the post for you to publish.
GO TO MAIN SECTIONS
How to check in on the Facebook app
Checking in the Facebook app:
- Enable location services on your iPhone or Android. Check out our guides on how to do this.
- Give Facebook the necessary permissions to access your location. This usually happens the first time you check in and Facebook asks for location data access. Give it access once or access as long as the app is open.
- Open a new status update message and tap Check in At the bottom.
- If Facebook has access to your location, you’ll see a list of nearby places. Choose the correct (or the closest.)
- The status update message inserts the chosen location on a map.
In addition to checking in, you can also add a post, tag other Facebook users who are with you, and add a ‘feeling’. The other options are not available on a check-in pole. If you try to choose one of them, the check-in disappears. Make sure you also have the correct privacy setting for the post before you publish it.
How to check in on the Facebook website
It’s a similar check-in process on the Facebook website. Open a new status update message and click the red check-in logo (or is it orange?).
Select the location where you are by clicking on it. If Facebook can’t find you, make sure you’ve enabled location access in your browser. It may not always show the exact location, so choose the nearest place instead.
The status update message now inserts the chosen location on a map. Now add anything you like, such as a message, a tag, or a sentiment, and make sure you have the right privacy setting. Maybe you don’t want the whole world to know where you are right now.
Delete check-ins on Facebook
If you later decide you shared too much and want to delete a check-in, it’s very easy. It only takes a few clicks or taps.
On the desktop site
Click the three horizontal dots to the right of the message. Click in the menu that appears Go to Recycle Bin.
On the mobile app
It’s the same deal on the mobile app. Click the three dots to the right of the message and select Go to Recycle Bin in the menu.
If you move the message to the trash, it will remain there for 30 days, during which time it can still be viewed in the activity log in your account settings. Now, if you really want to delete the check-in permanently, you need to go to your activity log and delete it from there.
Read more: Facebook not working? Here are the common problems and how to fix them
Frequently Asked Questions
The feature depends on your phone’s location services enabled. If you have disabled this feature, Facebook will not be able to determine your location.
Yes, you can only make the post friends. This is recommended for security and privacy reasons. Burglars have been known to break into homes after seeing the owner’s public check-in on their Facebook page, which showed they were elsewhere.