Facebook released the "Find Friends Nearby" app June 25, which did exactly what it said and allowed users to effectively scan the area for local users. However the feature has since been pulled almost as quickly as it was released. Why?

Wired reported that while testing the feature pages didn't load, and Find Friends Nearby was gone. Apparently the app wasn't an official release - it didn't get a launch announcement, which was probably a hint that Facebook had made a mistake - rather engineers were "testing" the app according to a Facebook spokesperson who spoke to the tech Web site. "[W]e'll communicate with everyone when there is something more to say," the spokesperson added.

One of the engineers on the app, Ryan Patterson, said the app is designed to connect with people users meet at events and not find new people. The app sounds a more open version of Apple's Find My Friends app, which shows the location of iOS users. Apple pitched that service as a way to stay in touch, rather than find new people. Apple's service didn't receive an entirely positive reception: some users questioned whether the app could be abused.

Friend Friends Nearby also means the arduous process of searching through potentially thousands of same-named people and looking for the described profile picture is gone, as friends local to the user show. Of course, someone across the Atlantic won't be considered local.

Patterson also said the app ended when the page was left. The service is integrated into the Facebook mobile apps.

The service marks Facebook acquiring another company only to launch a service using the technology: Facebook launched Camera+ shortly after acquiring Instagram, which included filters like the photo sharing service. The company previously acquired Glancee, which was a service designed to discover people around users.

Facebook has had privacy concerns in the past: the ability to filter friends lists and control the information Facebook shares is becoming increasingly hard to find for some users, while Facebook is quietly pushing the "@Facebook" e-mail handle with no other options available. CEO Mark Zuckerberg even had to remove his iconic hoody when questioned on privacy concerns at the All Things Digital conference in 2010.