Snapchat Rolls Out New Live Location Security Feature

Snapchat is rolling out a new safety feature to its Snap Map that allows users to share their real-time location with their friends.

Dubbed Live Location, the feature doesn’t need the app to be open to transmit your location, but it does require a two-way friendship. Snap Inc. states that privacy is an important factor to Live Location and has enacted several security features to ensure user safety.

Sharing your location has been a feature on Snap Map since 2017, but it was never real-time and only gave a general area instead of an exact place. Plus, it required the app to be open. With Live Location, you can stuff your phone in your pocket or purse while transmitting your location.

By default, Live Location will be off, and there will be no way to broadcast your location to the wider area, as sharing your whereabouts is restricted to mutually added friends. And prior to using Live Location, Snapchat will enact a tutorial teaching you how to use the new feature and configure its settings.

According to Yahoo! Finance and Snap Inc, the location tracker appears to have a set timer from a minimum of 15 minutes to a maximum of eight hours. The announcement also points out that Snaps shared between friends and "sensitive locations" will stay private.

Live Location is the result of a partnership with It's On Us, a non-profit organization founded in 2014 that is committed to fighting sexual assault on college campuses.

Snapchat encourages people to read its support page for more information about Live Location and welcomes any feedback that could help improve the feature.