Snapchat is introducing enhanced location tracking features to its parental control tools, providing parents with greater visibility into their children’s Snap Map settings and whereabouts.
Read: Bandwidth Blog & Smile 90.4FM Tech Tuesday: ChatGPT Search!
These updates, rolling out in the coming weeks, will be integrated into Snapchat’s Family Center, the platform’s hub for parental controls. With the new features, parents can request access to their child’s location, share their own location, and receive “travel notifications” when their child departs from specific places, like home or school.
Additionally, Family Center will now allow parents to see who their teen has shared their location with on Snap Map. This update addresses long-standing concerns from safety advocates about the risks posed by Snapchat’s location-sharing features. Critics have pointed out that the app’s location-sharing capabilities have, in some instances, enabled teens to interact with strangers, including potential predators and drug dealers. Earlier this year, the New Mexico Attorney General filed a lawsuit against Snapchat, citing these safety risks.
Snapchat emphasizes that it restricts location sharing to friends only and prohibits sharing with non-friends. To further reinforce safe practices, the company plans to send users reminders about their Snap Map settings, encouraging thoughtful decision-making about their location-sharing choices.
