Snapchat Rolls Out New Location Tracking Features for Families

Highlights

• Snapchat is rolling out location-tracking features for families.
• The new feature will allow parents to monitor their children’s locations and Snap Map settings.
• Parents can set up travel notifications for specific places like school or home.
• The new features are expected to be available in the coming weeks.

Snapchat is rolling out enhanced location-tracking features specifically for families. This feature will allow parents to keep a tab on their children’s Snap Map settings and locations.

As per media reports, these new features are expected to be available for wider users in the coming weeks and will be part of Snapchat’s Family Center parental control hub.

Parents can now request access to view their child’s location or share their own with these updates.

They can also set up “travel notifications” to receive alerts when their child leaves specific places like school or home.

Snapchat shared details of the feature in a blog post, saying, “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.”

Currently, the Snapchat Family Center already allows parents to monitor who their kids are chatting with.

With this latest update, parents will also be able to see who their teen has shared their location with on Snap Map.

A recent The Verge report revealed that this location-tracking feature will be released along with the other location features.

The Verge report mentions, “Once you have the update, you’ll see an option in the Family Center that lets parents request their teen’s locations, and vice versa.The hub will also allow parents to view their child’s location-sharing settings alongside existing privacy settings to ensure they’re using the app safely and responsibly.”

The report adds, “If that’s not enough, Snap is allowing family members to send automatic travel notifications, which will ping them when you’ve arrived to or left from three designated locations, such as home or school.”

These new features are being introduced amid rising safety concerns over Snapchat’s location-sharing features.

Recently, Snapchat has been under fire for allegedly allowing teens to interact with strangers, including criminals.

A lawsuit filed by New Mexico’s Attorney General earlier this year highlighted these safety concerns.

In response to growing concerns, Snapchat has noted that only friends can share location info on Snap Map.

Moreover, the instant messaging app is planning to add reminder prompts for users to be careful of who they share their location with.

FAQs

Q1. What new features is Snapchat introducing for families?

Answer. Snapchat is rolling out enhanced location-tracking features, allowing parents to monitor their children’s Snap Map settings and locations through the Family Center parental control hub.

Q2. How can parents receive notifications about their child’s location?

Answer. Parents can set up “travel notifications” to receive alerts when their child leaves or arrives at specific places like school or home.

Q3. What safety measures are Snapchat implementing with the new features?

Answer. Snapchat will allow parents to see who their teen has shared their location with and will add reminder prompts for users to be careful of who they share their location with.

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