Facebook has acquired the Internet start-up company Hot Potato.
Hot Potato specialises in news feed and location-based services and has been acquired by Facebook to strengthen its recently launched location-based service, Facebook Places, which allow users to share their location with their friends and 'check-in' at specific locations.
According to news agency the Associated Press, a representative of the Brooklyn-based Hot Potato announced the acquisition in a post on the company website.
The representative wrote: “Today, we’re thrilled to announce that some of the features and thinking behind Hot Potato are going to be exposed to a much larger audience: We’ve been acquired by Facebook.”
The company has announced that it is closing down its operations and will no longer accept new sign-ups. It also clarified that no existing user data will be carried over to the social networking giant after the acquisition is completed.
According to Facebook, the start-up has made a great contribution in the field of location-based services, and that the company is excited to receive members of the team of Hot Potato on its panel.