Facebook has been doing background checks, known as due diligence, on the location-based social network Loopt , a source with knowledge of the talks tells us. Generally speaking, due diligence of this kind is only performed when a company is in acquisition or fundraising talks. Loopt won't comment on this story, and a Facebook spokesperson says "As a practical matter, we don't comment on rumor and speculation." There is no indication that Facebook has made an actual offer to buy Loopt at this time, and in fact we don't even have direct information that negotiations are taking place. But it's clear that Facebook is at least considering acquiring Loopt, and/or others in this space. It's also not clear that Facebook is the only company taking a look at Loopt. Google is also highly interested in the mobile social and location space. Their recent launch of Buzz , which allows check-ins of locations via a mobile device, is just one indication of that.