Police forces have raised child safety concerns about Snapchat’s newest feature. The new feature called “Snap Maps” reveals users' locations and it is feared it could be used for stalking.
Parents have been warned to turn off "Snap Maps" on their children's phones after Snapchat.
The feature displays a map of nearby friends, showing their latest location gathered using a smartphone's GPS sensor. Users of the app can also search for locations such as individual schools, with the app displaying public photos and videos sent by students.
While the feature is designed to help friends meet up or attend events together it has raised fears that it could be abused.
A spokesperson for the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children said: “It’s worrying that Snapchat is allowing under 18s to broadcast their location on the app where it can potentially be accessed by everyone in their contact lists. With public accounts, this will include those who are not known to the user. This highlights why it’s vital children are automatically offered safer accounts on social media to ensure they are protected from unnecessary risks.”
The UK Safer Internet Centre said: "It is important to be careful about who you share your location with, as it can allow people to build up a picture of where you live, go to school and spend your time. Given how specific this new feature is on Snapchat - giving your location to a precise pinpoint on a map - we would encourage users not to share their location, especially with people they don’t know in person.
Parents can turn the feature off on children's phones by setting the app to "ghost mode”.
How to turn on ghost mode and Snap Maps
To hide your location from friends, you can turn on ghost mode in Snap Map. To do this, pinch the screen when you are in selfie mode to bring up Snap Map. Then, click the settings icon in the top right hand corner and set the phone to "ghost mode". This means that Snapchat will stop sharing your location.
