Snapchat announced today that it would introduce real-time location sharing, meant to be used as a temporary buddy system while friends and family are en route to a date or headed home, for example.
The feature is similar to the Find My app on iOS, where users who’ve opted in can see and share precise locations. The Snapchat setting can be enabled for 15 minutes or a few hours with individual users and is only available between mutual friends on the app. In order to lower the risk of stalking or being pressured to constantly share location, users can pause sharing without sending the other party a notification, Snapchat says. The feature is off by default and there is no option to share real-time location with all Snapchat friends.
To enable the setting, users navigate to a friend’s profile and select the duration of location sharing. The status of live location sharing is visible within the chat window with that friend.
This update is the first live location feature for Snapchat. Users already have the option to let friends see where they were when they last used the app, which populates the Snap Map — used by 250 million Snapchat users a month.
For this rollout, Snapchat is partnering with It’s On Us, a national nonprofit program focused on stopping campus sexual assault. In addition to the buddy system feature, beginning today Snapchat will include an in-app message about bystander awareness.
Similarly, the app will let users change their usernames with an update arriving globally later this month. It means you’ll be able to leave behind the name you used originally without having to create an entirely new account. Snapchat says the new feature will be available for both iOS and Android and will launch on February 23rd.
In order to change your username, head to the profile screen by tapping the Bitmoji icon in the top right corner of the camera. Tap the gear icon, then “Username,” and select “Change Username.” Changing a username won’t have any impact on your contacts, Snap code, Snap Score, or memories, according to Snapchat’s press release.
Be warned that you can only change a username once in a year, and Snap adds that you won’t be able to pick a handle that’s been used in the past, even by yourself. So if you were hoping to secure a username that’s already registered and inactive, this change won’t help there. Plus, once you switch, it seems your old username is gone forever.