Facebook Launches 'Place Tips' Feature

Facebook (NasdaqGS: FB - news) is going head-to-head with apps like FourSquare and Yelp (Xetra: Y9L.DE - news) by flagging up local sights and restaurant tips based on where you are.

A new feature called Place Tips will show users relevant information about the area in which they are in while using the Facebook app.

The tips will show up at the top of the news feed which link through to photos and information that friends or businesses have shared about that place.

For example in a restaurant recommended menu items could appear.

The tips only appear if you have given Facebook access to the location on your phone, and can be turned off altogether or for specific locations.

From today the feature will be rolled out in New York City, and if it is successful it could be expanded to all Facebook users.

In the US, Yelp and FourSquare are the dominant location-based recommendation apps.

The ubiquity of Facebook's app means that the service could directly challenge their market share.

Facebook is keen to boost the usefulness of its app as users switch to accessing the service on mobile devices.

Around 85% of its 900 million daily users access Facebook through a mobile phone.