Loopt Adds Support for Facebook Connect

By Jai C.S.

TMCnet Contributing Editor

 

California based company Loopt (News - Alert), which offers social-mapping and communication services, has implemented Facebook Connect to allow users to "connect" their Facebook identity, friends, and privacy settings to the Loopt service. The enhanced capabilities will be available to consumers in late summer and will initially be available to Loopt users via the iPhone (News - Alert) App Store.

 

With the support of leading venture capital firms Sequoia Capital and New Enterprise Associates, Loopt has been focusing on enhancing its social mapping service, which allows friend to connect, share and explore in the mobile environment.

 

Facebook (News - Alert) is the fourth-most trafficked Web site in the world. Facebook Connect is offered by Facebook that allows users to bring their Facebook account information, friends and privacy to any third party website, desktop application or device. Benefits of Facebook Connect include: trusted authentication, real identity, friend linking, dynamic privacy assurance and enhanced social distribution.

 

The company recently introduced the latest advancements to Facebook Platform with more than 400,000 developers to connect their Web sites with Facebook through Facebook Connect.

 

Working with Facebook Connect will allow Loopt users to share and discover recommendations for nearby businesses, integrate location awareness into their Facebook feeds, and easily find and connect with Facebook friends both on and offline in a manner consistent with their Facebook privacy settings.

 

"Working with Facebook Connect widens the circle of friends Loopt users can interact with, combining the power of Loopt's social-mapping service with an established network of Facebook friends," said Evan Tana, director of product management and marketing at Loopt, in a statement.

 

Tana added, "Loopt users will be able to receive an alert whenever Facebook friends are nearby, discover restaurants and bars recommended by their Facebook friends, and integrate their location into their Facebook feed."

 

Loopt is 100 percent permission-based and users share location information only with their selected friends, communities and services. Loopt works with leading mobile, social networking, and online privacy and security organizations such as the Center for Democracy & Technology (News - Alert), Family Online Safety Institute, Cyber Safe California, ConnectSafely.org, Congressional Internet Caucus Advisory Committee, Progress & Freedom Foundation’s Center for Digital Media Freedom, and the Internet Safety Task Force. Loopt is also TRUSTe certified.