Snapchat paedo fears as experts warn SnapMap feature allows strangers to pinpoint exactly where your kids are at any given time
Social media giant will add the new feature to the popular photo and video sharing app that will allow users to share their exact, real time location on a map with their friends
A NEW social media feature could see children putting themselves at risk of being stalked and bullied.
Snapchat, an app that allows users to share pictures and videos for a limited time, is launching Snap Map that allows people to see where their friends are.
The feature sees users represented as digital characters on a map using information from the mobile phone’s GPS system.
Snapchat has more than 10m users in the UK and the new feature will give exact and real-time locations, reported .
However, not everyone added as a friend on Snapchat is known to the user meaning there is a possibility that strangers could use the feature to stalk individuals.
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Users have to be at least 13 to use the app, in theory, but the new feature has been criticised by campaigners working in the youth sector.
Vicki Shotbolt, who runs Parent Zone to help mums and dads understand the digital world their children inhabit, slammed Snap Map.
She said: “[Snap Map] feeds directly into that fear of missing out [Fomo] issue. For a young person who is feeling vulnerable already, or may be excluded from their friend group … it’s inevitably going to make them feel bad.
“We very rarely say this, but in this instance we are saying, ‘This feature is adding nothing to your life and it’s a threat to your security, so turn it off.’”
The actress Nadia Sawalha, a panellist on the television show Loose Women, has expressed concern about her 14-year-old daughter Maddie using Snapchat.
She said: “My daughter has 80 friends on Snapchat. I’ve literally met five or 10 of those … To me a friend is someone who has come round to our house, and I know and have spoken to one of their parents.”
The 52-year-old added: "Maddie also said sometimes she tells her friends she doesn’t want to go out because she’s busy, but she’s now worried they will be able to know she’s doing nothing [if her location is enabled].”
By default the app does not share the user's location - something called Ghost Mode.
Responding to concerns, Snapchat said: “We routinely work with law enforcement and safety experts and will continue to do so — and encourage a public conversation about ways to use the Map safely, as intended.”
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