SNAPCHAT has launched a new location tracking feature – and users are not happy about it.
Last week, Snap Inc. launched a new subscription plan for Snapchat that lets users access exclusive features.
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Dubbed Snapchat Plus, the subscription is priced at $3.99 a month and is geared toward “the most passionate members of [the Snap] community.”
Users who opt for the paid service will not only get to use exclusive tools but will also have access to universal features earlier than the rest of the Snapchat community.
Some of the exclusive tools include the ability to see who rewatched your story, pin close friends to the top of your chat, and customize the app icon.
However, the feature making the most waves is Ghost Trails, with many calling it “dangerous”.
What is ‘Ghost Trails’?
Ghost Trails is an exclusive feature available only to Snapchat’s new paid subscription users.
It lets people see where their friends have been in the past 24 hours.
Basically, if someone has their location visible, others can track their movements from one location to another via Snapchat Map.
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What’s more, the tool also displays a yellow trail that details which route a person took to get from point A to B.
Snapchat users are not happy
Many Snapchat users have taken to social media to share their thoughts on the new features – and they’re not pleased.
“Snapchat unveiled a subscription plan and their Ghost Trails feature is a little…disturbing,” one Twitter user wrote.
A second person said: “Snapchat ghost trails. WHY?? I can see no healthy reason for wanting to know exactly where someone has been in the last day.”
“It’s just making it easier for abusers to stalk and control their victim’s movements, making it harder to get help,” they added, before asking Snapchat to remove this feature “immediately”.
“The new ‘ghost trails’ is so dangerous and stupid lol so many women are going to get hurt or killed [because] of this,” a third Twitter user remarked.
How to turn off your location
If you want to make sure that no one can track your movements on Snapchat, you can enable ‘Ghost Mode’.
This means that your Bitmoji will no longer be visible on the Snapchat Map and no one can see your location.
To do this, go to Snapchat Map and press the icon in the top right-hand corner to bring up the settings.
Once there, toggle on ‘Ghost Mode’.
You also have the option to share your location and Ghost Trail with only certain friends by tapping the ‘My Friends Except’ or ‘Only These Friends’ options.
