Lifestyle, News

New Snapchat ‘Snap Map’ feature causes concern

0 240

Humanity Hallows Issue 6 Out Now
Pick up your copy on campus or read online


By Hassan Irshad


Last week, a new feature on Snapchat called the ‘Snap Map’ was introduced on its website as ‘a whole new way to explore the world’. The feature allows users to share their location on an interactive map, appearing as their Bitmoji avatar or, in the case that they have not created one, simply as a coloured silhouette.

The map location system gives the precise location of the user, down to their exact whereabouts on a street, and has  naturally raised some concerns among users and, in particular, their parents. As reported by the Independent, people are alarmed that the feature “could expose children to potential predators.”

However, as explained in a piece by Refinery29, ‘Ghost Mode’ is an option, whereby your location is not shown, and the user can also decide who is able to see their location via a setting on the app. Additionally, the prime feature of the map is not always the location of your friends. As Jack Brody, a product designer at Snap, explains in the article: “This map isn’t about where am I, it’s about where are my friends and what are they up to? It’s not about figuring out how to get to your destination, but about discovering where you want to go.”

About the author / 

Humanity Hallows

Leave a reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

More News Stories:

  • Manchester Writing School Summer Festival 2026: Celebrating creativity, community and new voices

    Featured image and gallery: Hoang Phan Notebooks were carried from one workshop to another. Writers from different generations sat around tables, sharing manuscripts and listening to each other. Outdoors, small groups strolled along Oxford Road, pausing before buildings steeped in literary history. This was the scene during the Manchester Writing School Summer Festival 2026, held…

  • Bloodstock 2026: Sunday review- 25 years of circle pits

    Featured image: Katja Ogrin With many sore heads and limbs this morning after the most hardcore day of the festival taking place yesterday, many are recovering from the moshing and pit brutality of the previous day’s antics. As the tradition of a morning movie in the Serpents Lair prevails, the crowd sprawls out onto the plush,…

  • Bloodstock 2026: Saturday review – Breaking the circle pit rule

    Featured image: Abbi Draper After an electrifying start to the weekend, with temperatures slowly climbing, many lather themselves in suncream, shed their band shirts and rise from their tents to trek towards the arena. Saturday has big things incoming for the humans of Bloodstock 2026. Some pace themselves for the day and hide from the early…

  • Bloodstock 2026: Friday review – Lamb of God reminds us ‘This is an Invitation’

    Featured image: Abbi Draper After a memorable Thursday opener, Bloodstock 2026 opens its gates once again onto the Hallowed Grounds of Catton Park, kicking off day two of its 25th-anniversary celebration of metal. As the sun rises on Catton Park, festivalgoers emerge from their tents to prepare for another day of mayhem. The morning brings…