Over the weekend Snapchat issued an update to let users know that they will now be able to see the location of their “friends” on a map. Snapchat is a popular social messaging service used mostly by teenagers.
But the tracking feature doesn’t just show the general area – it shows the street and even the house of the person.
It doesn’t start sharing the user’s location until they access the maps for the first time, but parents are concerned as it does show the precise location of the user.
If you are concerned, the good news is Snapchat users can switch their settings to ‘Ghost mode’ so that their location is not revealed, and others cannot see where they are.
Here’s how to change the settings to “Ghost mode” (Credit: Snapchat/ Closer)
To keep your location hidden:
Make sure the app is the updated version and go to selfie mode on the camera. Then zoom out. It will give you the option of changing to who can see your location.
Once you have zoomed out and gone to the maps section, click the settings in the top right corner and tick ‘Ghost Mode’.
Many parents have posted their concerns online.
One mother wrote: “Wtf is snapchat thinking of? When young kids and teens use this app? A lot of people could be attacked with this silly location on.”
Another wrote: “Thanks for alerting us. Also if you tap the blue mist you can see random people snapchats!!! I just did this in my local area and I’ve seen where kids and dogs live i.e. Where the Snapchat has taken place possibly. So if I was an unsavoury character I could go stalking or snatching!!!!”
But others praised the update, saying it would help them to keep track of their children.
One person wrote: “Everyone’s being very negative about this. Maybe it’s a good thing to be able to locate your children? Useful if they go missing? Just make sure they only have real friends on Snapchat!”
Another commented: “Wouldn’t it come in handy if your kids went missing and you couldn’t find them? I don’t know which is the worst of the two evils, I’d like to think if your child’s missing you can track them yourself and find their location and put your mind at ease is better than not knowing any last location while your waiting for them to be found.”
It may be worth checking with your child whether they are using the maps feature if you are worried.
Via Closer
