How Location Sharing Is Redefining How Friends Connect
With location sharing, Snapchatters are turning everyday moments into stronger communication and real-world connection
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Every day, Snapchatters use Snap Map to stay connected to the people and places that matter most. What started as a simple way to see where your friends are has grown into one of the most popular maps on mobile, with more than 450 million people using Snap Map each month.
But what’s most interesting isn’t just the scale, it’s how location sharing is shaping the way people connect.
When friends on Snapchat choose to share location with each other, they tend to talk more, exchanging more messages back and forth, and talking nearly an extra day on average every two weeks.
It’s a small shift that adds up to something bigger: when friends choose to share location, it can deepen the relationship, making it easier to reach out, check in, and make plans in the moment.
Snap Map isn’t just about staying in touch — it’s also about discovering what’s happening around you and getting out from behind the screen and into the world.
65% of the visits that Snapchatters make to new places are to locations that their friends have visited within the past year.
That’s because signals from your surrounding community, out in the world living their life, feel personal and relevant, and can have a real influence.
This month, we’re testing new ways to see when creators you follow have visited and recommend a place. Now, when you explore a spot on Snap Map, you’ll see if someone you follow or a notable Snap Star has recently visited and tagged that place along with the associated content they shared. It makes it even easier to discover hidden gems and trending spots through real experiences shared by people you trust.
Location sharing also plays an important role in helping people look out for each other.
Within 8 months from when we introduced Home Safe, a feature that lets you automatically alert a friend when you arrive at your house, more than 1 million Snapchatters used it to let a friend know they made it safely home.
Since we expanded to more flexible Arrival Notifications that made it easier to share when you arrive anywhere, from a class to a concert, Snapchatters have started sending more than 1.5 million Arrival Notifications to their friends daily.
The pattern is clear: when safety features are simple and built to integrate easily into real life activity, people use them. Whether it’s a heads up to a friend when you’re heading home after a night out, arriving at a first date, or checking in after a long drive, these small moments of communication can make a big real-world difference.
Since the very beginning, we built location sharing on Snapchat to be simple, useful, and always in your control.
Location sharing on Snap Map is off by default, and Snapchatters can only share their location with friends they’ve accepted.
You choose exactly who can see your location, and you can change or turn it off at any time.
And while many people find value in sharing their location with close friends and family, it’s not for everyone, and that’s okay.
For many Snapchatters, staying connected isn’t just about messaging. It’s about sharing content they love, sending Snaps to make a friend's day, and showing up for each other in real life.
We’re excited to keep building features that help Snapchatters connect with the people they trust — wherever they are.
Happy Snapping! 💛
