The Reason Parents Are Concerned For Their Teens After Snapchat's Latest Update

Parents have enough to worry about when trying to monitor their children's cell phone use, but Snapchat's latest update has given a new cause for concern. The new Snap Map feature allows users to showcase their exact location when uploading those adorable Snapchat-filtered selfies or videos. The downside to that means anyone can search and find exactly where your child is by simply following and watching their Snapchat content.

Snapchat has tried to defuse some of the outrage by pointing out that Snap Map is an opt-in feature that can be turned off at any time (and the feature is turned off by default). "With Snap Map, location sharing is off by default for all users and is completely optional. Snapchatters can choose exactly who they want to share their location with, if at all, and can change that setting at any time," a Snapchat spokesman told the BBC.

Still, some parents have voiced fears over stalkers, burglars, or even kidnappers having access to their kids' locations whenever the Snap Map feature is enabled. The Snapchat spokesperson stressed that "the majority" of its users only interact with close friends while using the app, therefore hindering the ability of complete strangers to receive access to such private information.

If you want to turn off Snap Map location sharing on your or your child's phone, all you have to do is open the app and set it to selfie mode. Pinch the screen and Snap Map should open up; from there you can reset the settings and disable the feature by tapping Ghost Mode. Parents should also know that any content they or their child uploads to Snapchat's public Our Story feed will still be searchable on Snap Map, regardless of disabling it.