Snapchat’s Snap Map — What Parents Should Know


Summer is a time for camps, sports, and — of course — social media.  You may have read about a new option on the popular photo-sharing and messaging app, Snapchat, called Snap Map.  Snap Map has Geo-tracking, which allows people to find where you are in real time.  It is so precise that it allows someone to find your exact location.  A user can choose what their privacy settings are and decide whether or not to share their location with the friends connected to the user on Snapchat, a selection of them, or none of them, in ‘Ghost Mode.’  The concern comes in not knowing who may be connected to your ‘friends’ on Snapchat.  Having a discussion with your child about the potential dangers and the reasons for why limiting such location tracking is important.

Here are some questions that can guide your family Snap-chat:
• Have you heard of Snap Map?
• What are your privacy settings?
• Why do you choose to share information with others?  Your activities?  Your interests?  Your location?
• Who do you think it would be safe to share your location with?  Why?
• Who do you think it would be unsafe to share your location with?  Why?
• What if one of your Snapchat “friends” wants to know where you are?  What should you do?
• In what mode do you think we should set your location tracking?