Facebook Places launched a little over a month ago in the United States, but now the expanding service has finally made it"s way to the great white north. Canada is the fourth country to have Facebook Places enabled, along with Japan and UK, who received the update just last week.
Facebook Places allows you to ‘check-in" to places, using the Facebook application on the iPhone or the touch mobile based version of the site. The feature allows you to share your location with your Facebook friends, including who you are currently hanging out with. The optional feature gives you information about other friends who have checked-in, allowing you to see where people have been, who is around you and if anyone has been here before.
Facebook Places has raised some privacy concerns with the press and government officials, including Canada. Last year, Facebook and the Canadian Privacy Commission stated that Facebook infringes on Canadian privacy laws, forcing Facebook to update its privacy policy.
You can protect your privacy on Facebook by going into your Privacy menu, clicking customize settings and setting “Places I check in to” to only me, then disable “Include me in ‘People Here Now" after I check in.”