Snapchat announces new location sharing features coming to Family Center, our in-app hub where we offer parental tools and resources.
Snapchat is already home to one of the most popular maps on mobile. More than 350 million people use our Snap Map every month to share their location with their friends and family to help stay safe while out and about, to find great places to visit nearby, and to learn about the world through Snaps from around the globe. Soon, new Snap Map location sharing features in Family Center will make it easier than ever for families to stay connected while out and about.
Share Location Through Family Center
It’s easy. With a new button in Family Center available now, parents and caregivers can send a request asking their teen to share their live location. It’s also easy for parents to share their location back – keeping everyone in the family on the same page about each others’ comings and goings once they’ve opted in!
Enhanced Settings Visibility
Already in Family Center, parents can view many of their teen’s privacy and safety settings, and soon, they’ll have visibility into location-sharing selections too. This will allow parents to see which friends their teen shares their location with on Snap Map, helping families have informed conversations about what sharing choices work best for them.
Travel Notifications
Families will soon be able to choose up to three specific locations on the Snap Map, like home, school, or the gym, and parents will receive notifications when their family member departs from or arrives at those designated locations. We're adding travel notifications to Family Center to give parents more peace of mind knowing their teen has arrived at class, left sports practice on time, or even returned home after a night with friends.
These features will be rolling out over the coming weeks.
Additional Safety Reminders
On Snapchat, location sharing is always off by default, and there is no option to ever share location with someone who is not an accepted friend. For people who do share their location with all of their Snapchat friends, we’re adding new in-app reminders to review their selections. Snapchatters will see a pop up when they add a new friend who may be outside their real world network, prompting them to be extra thoughtful about their settings.
We’re excited to bring these new features to Family Center and look forward to hearing your feedback.