Police warn of stalking risk with new Snapchat feature

Saskatoon police are concerned a popular app is getting a little too social.

A post Monday on the Saskatoon Police Service Facebook page warned parents about a feature recently made available on the Snapchat social media app.

The new Snap Map feature allows users who opt in to share their location with friends.

Police said they worry kids and teens in particular may not be aware the feature broadcasts their exact location to everyone on their friends list every time they open the app, not just when they post.

The police Facebook post raised the issue of stalking, noting it was probably safest to use Snapchat’s “Ghost Mode” setting to keep location data private.

The police post also contained a link to an article from The Verge technology news site with more information.