Facebook Places Hits iPhone, Touch Devices

Facebook’s newest feature, Facebook Places, debuted Wednesday with a company event showcasing the new Facebook iPhone app that will allow users to “check in” from any location. It’s essentially the marriage of Facebook and services like Foursquare.

Wednesday night the app is slated to be released for download for iPhone users. It will allow users to check in from a location already in the app’s database, or to add a new location. Once checked in, the user can discover which, if any, of their friends are also in the location. The app will also allow users to tag their friends who are checking in from the same place.

Facebook Places was discovered prior to its official release on the Facebook touchscreen-enabled site at touch.facebook.com. For users of that site, Facebook Places will also allow friend tagging, TechCrunch reveals.

Facebook Places will also be available for iPod Touch, Android, BlackBerry Torch, and iPad.

And according to USA Today, Facebook users who are concerned for their privacy can easily opt out of the feature. By default, all check ins are set to be viewable by friends only, limiting your location’s exposure to total strangers.