Once known only for its self-destructing pics, in recent years Snapchat has sneakily evolved into a location-oriented social media app. It’s now leaning further than ever into that identity with a new real-time location sharing feature that allows family members to share their live locations with each other. The feature will roll out alongside other new location and privacy tools in the coming weeks.
Once you have the update, you’ll see an option in the Family Center that lets parents request their teen’s locations, and vice versa. The hub will also allow parents to view their child’s location-sharing settings alongside existing privacy settings to ensure they’re using the app safely and responsibly. If that’s not enough, Snap is allowing family members to send automatic travel notifications, which will ping them when you’ve arrived to or left from three designated locations, such as home or school.
The timing of of these features’ arrival feels a bit unfortunate for Snap, considering its app’s controversial appearance in the news of late related to privacy and safety concerns. An ongoing lawsuit from New Mexico’s attorney general Raúl Torrez alleges that Snapchat knowingly ignored warnings and evidence that the platform is being used to target and exploit minors with soliciting tactics for “sextortion” and “sexploitation” activities.
It also calls out other questionable uses such as sales of illegal weaponry and substances, though that is hardly exclusive to Snapchat. Torrez cited the fleeting nature of the platform’s “Snaps” — temporary messages, photos, and videos that are permanently erased after a set time — as a feature that directly conflicts with the general responsibility to keep its users safe.
With the added potential dangers posed by location sharing, we’re naturally curious to learn how Snap plans to assuage mounting fears while maintaining the original spirit of its platform. For now, it’s toeing the line carefully by making location features accessible only by opting in, limiting location sharing strictly to friends and family, and constantly reminding users to review their privacy and sharing preferences whenever they add someone new.
