Recently, Snapchat updated its features, creating Snap Map. Snap Map allows users to share their exact location with friends and followers using the smart phone’s GPS sensor. Users can “opt in” sharing their location or stay in “ghost mode” which keeps their location hidden.
Based on 2015 data, 60% of Snapchat’s 200 million users were under the age of 25. 23% of those users had not even graduated from high school yet. With that being said, as parents, do you know every friend your child has on Snapchat? Are you comfortable with your child sharing their exact location at all times with all their friends on Snapchat?
Talk to your kids. Look at their social media accounts. Ask who their friends are. If you don’t know their friends and they don’t know their friends, delete them.
But don’t only think about criminals stalking where you are, think about criminals knowing where you are not, like home. This could put you at risk to be a victim of other crimes such as burglary.
We urge anyone using Snap Map to pay close attention to the feature’s settings. In order to prevent your location from being shared, put the setting to “ghost mode”. To do this, pinch the screen while you’re on the Snapchat camera. From there, you can change the settings.