I am appalled at the apparent ignorance/disbelief in so many comments from people who don't find it obvious that location history data from Google/FB can be used to improve the user experience.
Can you give some examples? Normally I find that location data makes my user experience worse, for example assuming the language I speak based on the country, or redirecting me away from the url I was trying to go to.
It's not always individualistic. Facebook can determine where users travel to and when. There are more complex cohort analysis and segmentation that's being done but a lot of the data can help drive business strategy.
Here's one: If there is a delay on my commute, Google Maps alerts me about it well before I would usually leave so I can leave earlier to account for it (or decide to work from home).
I agree and hope you didn't think I was disagreeing with this angle on things. It really is a double-edged sword in that respect.