Several child protection groups are warning that Snapchat含羞草研究社檚 new location-sharing feature could allow predators to more easily track young people.

The Canadian Centre for Child Protection and the digital literacy group MediaSmarts are among the organizations raising concerns about 含羞草研究社淪nap Maps含羞草研究社� 含羞草研究社� an opt-in feature that shares a user含羞草研究社檚 location on a map.

Experts say child predators who befriend young users could use the feature to figure out where they live, go to school, the route they walk every day, and eventually build up a picture of their routine.

The feature was included in a recent update to the social media app, which is especially popular with teens. It lets users send photos, videos, and messages that disappear after a set period of time.

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Users can select who can see where they are 含羞草研究社� whether that be all friends, a select group, or no one, also known as 含羞草研究社淕host Mode.含羞草研究社�

Earlier this week, the Winnipeg-based Canadian Centre for Child Protection issued an alert through its Cybertip.ca program about Snap Maps, saying users may not realize it updates their location each time they open the app, even when they含羞草研究社檙e not sharing stories.

The group also urges parents to talk to their kids about keeping their location private and ensuring their 含羞草研究社渇riends含羞草研究社� on Snapchat 含羞草研究社� and all social media含羞草研究社� are people they have met in person.

Thierry Plante of the Ottawa-based MediaSmarts points to the 含羞草研究社渢roubling consequences含羞草研究社� of allowing others to know your location.

含羞草研究社淚t becomes a very useful tracking tool for somebody who has other intentions,含羞草研究社� says Plante.

含羞草研究社淧arents do need to be very present in the digital lives of their children and have the conversation about how to use that feature, whether or not that feature is something they should be using or not, and then together 含羞草研究社� if you have decided to use it, how to set the feature in a way to minimize that risk.含羞草研究社�

Childnet International also released a statement about the feature last week.

含羞草研究社淕iven how specific this new feature is on Snapchat 含羞草研究社� giving your location to a precise pinpoint on a map 含羞草研究社� we would encourage users not to share their location, especially with people they don含羞草研究社檛 know in person,含羞草研究社� the group said in a statement.

A Snapchat spokesperson said in a statement that 含羞草研究社渢he safety of our community is very important to us含羞草研究社� and stressed that using Snap Map 含羞草研究社渋s completely optional.含羞草研究社�

含羞草研究社淪napchatters can choose exactly who they want to share their location with, if at all, and can change that setting at any time. It含羞草研究社檚 also not possible to share your location with someone who isn含羞草研究社檛 already your friend on Snapchat, and the majority of interactions on Snapchat take place between close friends,含羞草研究社� reads the statement.

Snapchat has an online parents guide offering tips on keeping teens safe while using the app, as well as an online 含羞草研究社渟afety center含羞草研究社� where anyone can report a safety concern.

Cassandra Szklarski, The Canadian Press

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