Snap Inc’s Maps, launched this week, draws users and their snaps onto a map so friends and another Snapchatters can see wherever they are and what they are doing.
“We’ve created a whole new way to explore the world! See what’s passing, find your friends, and get excited to go on an adventure!” said the company in a blog post announcing the update.
With the initial use of the feature, users can choose whether they want to make their location visible to all of their buddies, a select group of contacts or to no one at all, which Snapchat refers to as “ghost mode”.
This new feature has raised concerns among safety experts who fear it could be used to stalk or harass others.
“Given how particular this new feature is on Snapchat – giving your position to a precise pinpoint on a map – we would urge users not to share their location, especially with people they don’t know in person,” said child protection group Childnet International in a blog post.
“It is essential to be careful about who you share your location with, as it can allow people to create up a picture of where you live, go to school and spend your time.”
Parents need to talk with their kids and get them to actually consider which friends they are sharing with,” added Larry Magid, the CEO of ConnectSafely.org.
“Users should be informed of the feature and review it periodically – if a friend becomes an ex-friend, for example.”
Snapchat’s parent company Snap sees the modern feature as a discoverability tool for the particularly tricky-to-navigate messaging app.
“There’s clearly the aspect of where are my buddies and what’s happening around them, but then there’s a conspicuous aspect of what’s happening globally,” Snap product designer Jack Brody told Refinery29. “There’s something truly powerful about seeing the diversity, but also the similarity of snaps throughout the world.”
If there’s a major event or revealing news taking place that lots of people are documenting on Snapchat, a patch of color will rise on the map identifying the hotspot.
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