New App Helps Users Avoid Their Friends

By Diana Rocco

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Tweets, Facebook posts -- there are plenty of ways to connect with your friends, and know where they are.

But what if you want to avoid someone and get a warning when they're nearby?

Well, as you might expect, there's now an app for that.

Our smartphones are not only tracking us, but helping us track others!

Facebook's newest feature "Nearby Places" allows you to see where your friends are and where they've been.

"It would be nice to know when they're nearby so I could meet them," Facebook user Sarah Barbakof said.

In most cases "Nearby Friends" will show a general vicinity or public place where a friend has recently been tagged or checked in.

All to make a spontaneous meet up a little easier, but only if you've mutually agreed to see each other's information.

Nearby Places can be great for trying to hook up with a friend last minute for a lunch or coffee date, but what if there are people you're trying to avoid?

A free new app called Split helps you do just that. You can flag and track the people you don't want to see.

"I might say, that everybody know this um, you know anxiety you feel in your stomach when you bump into someone you don't like meeting," Split CEO Udi Dagan said.

Creator Udi Dagan came up with the idea after running into two ex-girlfriends in one night. The app scans nearby areas for flagged "friends" or contacts and sends you an alert if they're close by, then giving you a way to escape. Split even lets you know if you've signed up for the same event without ever letting the flagged person know they've been avoided.

"You get really awkward when you see someone you don't want to see so it's easier to avoid them," said Danielle Konowal.

But "Nearby Places" and "Split" only work if you can be detected.

"I just don't like people knowing where I am I guess," Facebook user Jim Guida said.

Don't want to be found? Make sure location services have been disabled. That way you can stay off the radar.