Snapchat is adding new location tracking capabilities to its parental controls feature. These changes will give parents new visibility into their kids’ Snap Map settings and allow them to keep track of their whereabouts.
The new features, which will be available “in the coming weeks,” will be added to Snapchat’s Family Center, the app’s portal for parental control features. With the update, parents will be able to see their child’s location or request to share their own. Parents can also choose to receive “travel notifications” when their child leaves a specific location, like school or home.
In addition, Family Center, which already allows parents to see who their kids are chatting with, will also allow them to see who their teen has shared their location with in the app’s Snap Map.
The feature could help address some of the criticism the company has faced about the role its app’s location sharing capabilities have played in significant security issues. Snapchat’s location sharing has been particularly scrutinized by safety advocates, who have alleged that it has enabled teens to connect with strangers, including drug dealers and potential predators. The feature was criticized in a lawsuit filed earlier this year by New Mexico’s attorney general over alleged security lapses at the company.
In its latest update, Snap notes that it prevents all users from sharing their location information with users who are not already their friends. And the company says it plans to send users additional reminders about their Snap Map settings to prompt them to “be extra thoughtful about their choices.”