Snapchat has rolled out a new update called ‘Map Explore’ which will let users know about what is happening with their friends on their Snap map. The Snap map will show the updates by the user’s friends when their friends allow the app to access their location. Along with the ‘Our Story’ updates which the users usually do, the breaking news and other events which make their way to the top of Snapchat’s content will also be shown on the Snap map, depending on the location. This new feature might supposedly breathe life back onto the Snap platform by bringing an update which hasn’t been implemented on any other app before, especially after their latest update that merged the story and messaging section together, sadly it was the same update which the users didn’t like.
The Snap Map Explore is going to help users explore their friends’ stories and the content which they post while being in their proximity. You can also see what is happening elsewhere in the world on the Snapchat platform as the feature allows finding content and the navigation on Snap map fairly easy. The updates and stories start appearing automatically on the map once the user stars sharing their location.
Snapchat also added a statement while explaining the function of the new feature ‘(the updates are) inferred from the locations they open the app at.’ This means that if your friends have not opened the app since the last eight hours, the update will be gone form the Snap map. This ensures that Snapchat still keeps on walking on its mantra of more ‘real life’ communication.
Users can access the feature by pinching out on the screen when they open the app. Then by tapping on the new updates, button users can see the stories and content uploaded by other users by swiping horizontally. Snapchat also allows users to stop sharing their location by turning on the Ghost Mode which can be accessed through the settings menu on the app, present at the right-hand side of the map.
The heavy users of Snapchat will be familiar with the concept of Snap map as Snapchat rolled out the feature last year however they have made the additions mentioned above this year only. Snap users can see their friends’ location on the Snap map in the form of their Bitmoji cartoon. The ‘Our Story’ section of the app houses the popular snaps which have been taken at a particular location. These Our stories unlike the personal ones allow them to be embedded online and can prove to be a great way of sharing small format content.
Many people had previously raised concerns regarding the location sharing the feature of the app since it made the sharing of the exact location for people extremely easy and given that a large user base of Snapchat consisted of kids and teenagers it was a serious issue at that time. However, Snap answered these question by citing that the location sharing feature was always optional and could always be turned off if the user wanted to.
