Facebook revamps Notifications tab in mobile apps, adds new location-based options

Facebook on Monday announced another series of changes to its mobile apps, most notably enabling new notifications more closely tailored to users and their current location.

An updated, Google Now-like Notifications tab segments information such as milestones, event RSVPs, sports scores, and reminders about TV episodes. The latter two are based on Liked pages.

The new notifications are optional, and require Location History to be enabled. These can for instance provide local news, events, and weather — including severe weather alerts — or suggest movies in surrounding theaters. Another option lists nearby restaurants, with links to Facebook pages and reviews.

Facebook commented that by default, a user's current notification settings won't change. These can be adjusted through the Settings menu, tapping Add More Cards at the end of the Notifications tab, or tapping the pull-down menu arrows for existing cards.

The latest changes are gradually rolling out to iPhone and Android users.

In the past month Facebook has been more aggressive about improving its mobile apps, for instance by launching Instant Articles and trying to fix serious battery drain problems on iOS.