Facebook helps you find nearby friends

Facebook has quietly rolled out a new feature called Find Friends Nearby that lets you connect with new friends in your vicinity.

Facebook-by-Facebook-Inc

Facebook has quietly rolled out a new feature called Find Friends Nearby that lets you connect with new friends in your vicinity.

The tool functions in a similar way to location-aware mobile apps like Highlight and Banjo, enabling you to see when other Facebook users (who have the Find Friends Nearby page open within Facebook) are close by.

"For me, the ideal use case for this product is the one where when you're out with a group of people whom you've recently met and want to stay in contact with. Facebook search might be effective, or sharing your vanity addresses or business cards, but this tool provides a really easy way to exchange contact information with multiple people with minimal friction," Facebook engineer Ryan Patterson told TechCrunch.

Facebook recently acquired location-based discovery app Glancee, and its technology is rumored to have contributed to the new feature.

You can access Find Friends Nearby by visiting fb.com/ffn or via the iOS and Android apps by navigating to "Find Friends" in the left-hand slide-out menu > Other tools > Find Friends Nearby.