---
title: "Where in the world are you? Facebook or Foursquare may know"
description: "Three-in-ten adult social media users have set up at least one of their accounts to automatically \"tag\" their posts with their current location."
date: "2013-10-08"
authors:
  - name: "Drew DeSilver"
    job_title: "Senior Writer/Editor"
    link: "https://www.pewresearch.org/staff/drew-desilver/"
url: "https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2013/10/08/where-in-the-world-are-you-facebook-or-foursquare-may-know/"
categories:
  - "Facebook"
  - "Platforms & Services"
---

# Where in the world are you? Facebook or Foursquare may know

Three-in-ten adult social media users have at least one of their accounts currently set up to automatically "tag" their posts with their current location, up from 14% two years ago who had ever done this, according to [a May Pew Research Center survey](https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/Reports/2013/Location/Main-Report/Location-Tagging-Among-Social-Media-Users.aspx#footnote9).

Such "location-tagging" was more common among younger social media users, the survey found. About a third of users aged 18-49 said they'd set up their social-media accounts to location-tag their posts, compared with 26% of 50-to-64-year-olds and just 18% of users aged 65 or older.

[![DN_Geosocial](https://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2013/10/DN_Geosocial1.png)](https://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2013/10/DN_Geosocial1.png)

While location-tagging has grown more popular over the past two years, another location-based practice -- "checking in" via a geosocial service such as Foursquare -- seems to have become less so. The May survey found that [12% of adult smartphone owners](https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/Reports/2013/Location/Main-Report/LocationBased-Services.aspx) (equivalent to 7% of all adults) had used a check-in service , down from 18% (10% of all adults) in February 2012.

As researcher Kathryn Zickuhr noted in the report, the line between social-media services and location-based services is blurring, as "social media services incorporate location as an element of user activity and as location-centric services embrace varying degrees of social functionality." Indeed, when we asked users of check-in services which ones they used, a plurality (39%) said Facebook; runner-up Foursquare was mentioned by only 18%, while 14% cited Google Plus.