Facebook has introduced a Neighborhoods, a new section on its app which is aimed to connect neighbours. The feature which was under development since October last year is now made available for users in the US. While the test was limited to residents to Calgary and Canada, the feature is said to roll out to four US cities.
Facebook Neighborhoods feature: What it is, where is it available?
The new Neighborhoods which is said to be a Nextdoor-clone basically allows Facebook users to create a separate subprofile and add interests, favorite places, and a bio so that folks in the list can get to know a user within the Neighborhoods Directory. Facebook in its blog post mentioned that the Neighborhoods profile will be different from that of the main Facebook profile. Notably, the Neighborhoods profile will include a user’s name, profile, and cover photo from their Facebook profile and the name of their neighborhood. They can also add additional information to their profile in the bio section. Facebook notes that while creating a group in Neighborhoods, it can be either private or hidden and visible or hidden.
“To join, you’ll need to be 18 years or older and confirm your neighborhood. You can choose to join just your own neighborhood or, in addition, you also have the option to join your Nearby Neighborhoods to see neighbors and posts from your surrounding neighborhoods,” Facebook cited in its blog post.
Users using the new Neighborhoods feature will be able to get local recommendations as well. For availing suggestions from the local community, Facebook has added the Recommendations feature within Neighborhoods. While Facebook Groups had been a breeding ground for ‘un-moderated extremism,’ Facebook says that it will have a set of moderators dedicated to Neighborhoods to review comments and those against the Neighborhoods Guidelines be reviewed by Facebook Community Operations.
As with privacy, the saga with Facebook is nothing we aren’t aware of. While Neighborhoods isn’t a standalone app, similar behaviour is expected to happen with the new feature. TechCrunch notes that the new feature will be sharing users’ neighborly behavior to serve their targeted ads elsewhere. Speaking of the new Facebook Neighborhoods feature availability, it is currently available across Canada. As per the CNET report, the new Facebook Neighborhoods is targeted to certain other US locations including Charlotte, North Carolina; San Diego, California; Baton Rouge, Louisiana; and Newark, New Jersey.
