Difference between revisions of "Snap Map"
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*'''Ghost Mode''': This option allows the user to hide their location from every user on their friends list. In other words, nobody can see their location. When the user toggles Ghost Mode on, they have the option to be in this mode for 3 hours, 24 hours, or Until Turned Off. If the last option is chosen, nobody will be able to see the user’s location until they choose to turn off Ghost Mode. When Ghost Mode is enabled, the user can still see their own Bitmoji on their map, but it is holding up a blue sign with a ghost icon, similar to that of Snapchat’s logo. | *'''Ghost Mode''': This option allows the user to hide their location from every user on their friends list. In other words, nobody can see their location. When the user toggles Ghost Mode on, they have the option to be in this mode for 3 hours, 24 hours, or Until Turned Off. If the last option is chosen, nobody will be able to see the user’s location until they choose to turn off Ghost Mode. When Ghost Mode is enabled, the user can still see their own Bitmoji on their map, but it is holding up a blue sign with a ghost icon, similar to that of Snapchat’s logo. | ||
| − | *'''My Friends''': | + | *'''My Friends''': If the user chooses this option, then everyone on their friends list can see their location. Only people who the user has added as a friend can see their location. If someone else has added them as a friend, but the user has not added them back, then that person still cannot see the user’s location. |
| − | *'''My Friends, Except…''': | + | *'''My Friends, Except…''': |
| − | *'''Only These Friends''': | + | *'''Only These Friends''': |
==Features== | ==Features== | ||
Revision as of 03:32, 24 January 2022
Snap Map is a feature of the mobile application Snapchat. It allows a user to share their location with their friends on the app, as well as view the location of their friends who choose to share it. The location of the user and their friends are displayed on an interface similar to that of Google Maps, and allows the user to message or send a ‘snap’ to their friends directly from the map’s interface.[1] The user can choose whether their friends can see their location, as well as select which friends are allowed to see their location.[2]
Snap Map contains several features, such as Bitmoji, which are avatars that are intended to emulate the user’s physical appearance, heat zones, which show areas of high activity on Snapchat, and many others. As of January 2022, over 250 million Snapchat users use Snap Map every month.[3]
There have been ethical concerns about Snap Map in regard to user privacy and mental health, especially among the younger demographic. As of October 2021, 41.4 percent of Snapchat’s users were between the ages of 13 and 20.[4] These concerns arise from the fact that it is very easy to pinpoint a user’s location on Snap Map, which could put the user at risk. Also, the user can easily see which of their friends are together at a given time, which can lead to feelings of exclusion and have a negative impact on the user's mental health. [5]
Contents
History
Snapchat acquired Zenly in May 2017, which is an app that allows friends to track each others’ locations. [6] Zenly uses map data from Mapbox, OpenStreetMap, and DigitalGlobe to display its maps.[7]
Snap Map was launched in June 2017, powered by Zenly’s technology. Upon initial release, it allowed users to see the locations of their friends, to toggle whether others could see their locations, and to view public ‘snaps’ posted by users around the world.[7] In May 2018, a feature called “Map Explore” was introduced, which allowed the user to see updates about their friends’ whereabouts and travel, and to see featured stories of breaking news events happening around the world.[8] The “My Places” feature was released in July 2021, which shows the user popular places near them, and also allows them to save their favorite places.[9] In November 2021, Snap Map added two “Layers” to its interface: Memories, which shows the users the locations of the “snaps” that they have saved in their Snap Memories; and Explore, which displays public posts from events going on at the moment anywhere in the world.[10]
Location Settings
It is completely optional for a user to share their location with their friends on Snap Map. Even if a user opts to not share their location, they can still see the location of their friends who choose to share their location with them.
There are 4 options that a user can choose from in regard to sharing their location on Snap Map[11]:
- Ghost Mode: This option allows the user to hide their location from every user on their friends list. In other words, nobody can see their location. When the user toggles Ghost Mode on, they have the option to be in this mode for 3 hours, 24 hours, or Until Turned Off. If the last option is chosen, nobody will be able to see the user’s location until they choose to turn off Ghost Mode. When Ghost Mode is enabled, the user can still see their own Bitmoji on their map, but it is holding up a blue sign with a ghost icon, similar to that of Snapchat’s logo.
- My Friends: If the user chooses this option, then everyone on their friends list can see their location. Only people who the user has added as a friend can see their location. If someone else has added them as a friend, but the user has not added them back, then that person still cannot see the user’s location.
- My Friends, Except…:
- Only These Friends:
Features
Bitmoji
Actionmoji
Timestamps
Heatmap
Map Stories
Map Layers
Explore
Memories
My Places
Friends Tray
Web Client
Ethical Concerns
References
- ↑ Graham, J. (2017, June 21). New on Snapchat: Maps to find friends. USA Today. Retrieved January 22, 2022, from https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/talkingtech/2017/06/21/new-snapchat-maps-find-friends/103070952/
- ↑ Welch, C. (2017, June 21). Snapchat's New Snap Map Lets You Share your location with friends. The Verge. Retrieved January 22, 2022, from https://www.theverge.com/2017/6/21/15846358/snapchat-snap-map-location-sharing-feature-announced
- ↑ Golishsays:, K. (2022, January 5). Snapchat Demographic stats: How many people use Snapchat in 2022? Backlinko. Retrieved January 22, 2022, from https://backlinko.com/snapchat-users
- ↑ The latest Snapchat stats: Everything you need to know - datareportal – global digital insights. DataReportal. (n.d.). Retrieved January 22, 2022, from https://datareportal.com/essential-snapchat-stats
- ↑ Manousos, Z. (2021, March 8). A location generation: Why snap map is harmful for teens' mental health. THE ALGONQUIN HARBINGER. Retrieved January 22, 2022, from https://arhsharbinger.com/25203/opinion/a-location-generation-why-snap-map-is-harmful-for-teens-mental-health/
- ↑ Constine, J. (2017, June 21). Snapchat acquires Social Map App Zenly for $250M to $350M. TechCrunch. Retrieved January 23, 2022, from https://techcrunch.com/2017/06/21/snapchat-buys-zenly/
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Rollison, D. (2019, March 7). Snapchat expands its foray into local with snap map: Street fight. Street Fight | The Business of Location. Retrieved January 23, 2022, from http://streetfightmag.com/2017/07/10/snapchat-expands-its-foray-into-local-with-snap-map/
- ↑ Ong, T. (2018, March 22). Snapchat's map explore feature will let you know when your friends are hanging out without you. The Verge. Retrieved January 23, 2022, from https://www.theverge.com/2018/3/22/17151014/snapchat-map-explore-feature-update-snap-map
- ↑ Silberling, A. (2021, July 28). Snapchat adds my places feature to snap map, recommending spots to visit. TechCrunch. Retrieved January 23, 2022, from https://techcrunch.com/2021/07/28/snapchat-adds-my-places-feature-to-snap-map-connecting-users-to-businesses/
- ↑ Silberling, A. (2021, November 17). Snapchat launches memories and explore layers on snap map. TechCrunch. Retrieved January 23, 2022, from https://techcrunch.com/2021/11/17/snapchat-launches-memories-and-explore-layers-on-snap-map/
- ↑ Snap Map Location Settings. Snapchat support. (n.d.). Retrieved January 24, 2022, from https://support.snapchat.com/en-US/article/snap-map-location-settings
