A new feature in the Snapchat app is prompting warnings from child protection groups and police.
Snap Map, a feature which was added in a recent update to the popular social media app, allows users to share their exact locations.
If a user shares their location, it is then visible to their friends on a map display.
The feature has prompted concerns from groups like the Canadian Centre for Child Protection that child predators could use information from Snap Maps to figure out where children are at any given moment, how they get to school, and other information.
Thierry Plante of MediaSmarts, a digital literacy organization, says Snap Map can become a “very useful tracking tool” for people with malicious intentions.
“Parents do need to be very present in the digital lives of their children and have the conversation about how to use that feature,” he says.
Waterloo Regional Police take things one step further, saying they would prefer that kids not use share their location via Snap Map or any other app at all.
“There are definitely concerns when any application has location services,” says Det. Const. Sandor Illes of the WRPS Internet Child Exploitation Unit.
“We encourage children to not provide their location.”
For anyone who does want to share their location, police recommend users only have Snapchat friends who they know and trust.
For its part, Snapchat says it takes the safety of its users seriously and has reference material available for users and their parents.
“Snapchatters can choose exactly who they want to share their location with, if at all, and can change that setting at any time,” the company said in a statement.
With reporting by Katarina Milicevic and files from The Canadian Press
