Morris Twp Police Warn Against New 'Snap Map' Tracking Feature

MORRIS TWP, NJ — It might seem like a fun idea: little cartoon characters representing your friends traveling around on a map for you to check out and see where they are. But with Snapchat's new Snap Map feature, who exactly can see where you, or your children, are?

Thats the question Morris Township Police wants parents to ask their Snapchat using children.

Snapchat's newest feature, the Snap Map, allows your Snapchat friends to track your "bitmoji" (a little cartoon character that looks like you) around on a map. The location updates every time a user opens their Snapchat app. The tracking service is extremely accurate, down to the particular building a person is in (this reporter can see herself currently at work on her own Snap Map).

When opening the app for the first time after updating it, you'll be prompted to turn the feature off, on, or on for selected friends. You can change that setting later.

"Is your Snapchat profile on private or public? Can anyone follow you or just your friends? Do you know every single person in your child's friend list on Snapchat?" police want parents to ask their children.

They warn that allowing real-time tracking could open your home up to crime.

"Allowing your location to be viewed on Snap Map will allow people to track you in real time. It will allow people to see that you may be on vacation and your house is empty which gives people the opportunity to break into your home knowing that it's vacant. Or it may allow people posing as kids to locate your child on their Snap Map," police said.

Disabling the feature, or setting it so only trusted friends and family can see yor location is easy, according to the MTPD:

So, how do you disable this feature? Simply go to your home screen where you would take a Snap and use your fingers to pinch the screen smaller. Automatically a map of your location will open up. There is a setting tools in the upper right corner of the screen. Click on that icon and choose your settings. "Ghost mode" will always keep your location only available for you to see. Don't worry - if you're a fan of being able to add filters with your location this will not prevent that from being an option. That feature is controlled by your location settings on your phone or tablet. You can also choose just your friends to be able to see your location on the Snap Map. However, remember to check your friend list and make sure you actually know everyone on there.

In general, parents should check who their children are friends with on Snapchat.

"Does you child go to a school with 400 people but he or she has over 1,000 followers? Those so-called friends may be compete strangers looking to take advantage so continue the open dialogue with your kids about safety and privacy," police said.

Images: Screenshots via Snapchat