The latest feature on Snapchat has raised safety concerns among parents, and Gloucestershire police.

Snapchat's new feature Snap Maps means users can track each other’s movements in real time so that friends and other Snapchatters can see where they are and what they are doing.

But Snap Maps has raised safety concerns with parents and police warning that revealing kids' locations could put them at risk.

Actress and TV presenter Nadia Sawalha has warned of the risks in a video featuring her and her 14-year-old daughter Maddie.

The short video, shared on Facebook describes how the maps feature works.

In it, Nadia calls the update 'dangerous' and a 'step too far' and advises parents to make sure their child's Snap Maps feature is turned to 'ghost mode' so that it can't be seen by other users.

Maddie explains how she was unaware the feature, also known as 'stalk your friends', had been added to her phone until a friend pointed it out.

She explained that she could see exactly what her other friends were up to.

She said: "I could see my friend Leah was listening to music and someone else was sleeping."


To access the map, users open the app and pinch to zoom out on the screen which then displays a map of the local area. Users can change whether or not they are visible to others within the app’s settings.

Users can select whether they want to make their location visible to their friends, a select group of connections or keep it hidden, which Snapchat calls 'ghost mode'.

The new feature has raised concerns among safety experts who fear it could be used to stalk or bully others.

Stroud mum Victoria Ashcroft said her teenage daughter used Snapchat and she was concerned about the new app.

"I am very concerned about this new addition to the app. I don't understand how adults can develop new technology knowing that its mainly young people who use it, were are the morals?," she said.

"Children are vulnerable and need to be protected. My daughter has hers on Ghost mode."

Gloucestershire police have also warned parents to be aware of how their children use Snapchat.




How to turn Snap Maps feature off


