On Wednesday, Snapchat debuted its latest feature, Snap Map, that lets other people see exactly where you are in real time. Some users are seeing the tools as a fun new upgrade to Snapchat, others see it as super creepy, and the rest of us see Snap Map as the surest way to get caught.
Imagine the number of devious scenarios that Snap Map can expose:
- Going to Bulk Barn twice in a day for huge bags of unwrapped candy
- Being at home on a Friday night when all your friends are out
- When you text your friends “on my way” but they can clearly see you’re still at home
- Intentionally showing up at the same place your crush is will no longer be passable as coincidence
- Playing hooky at work to go to the beach, or Canada’s Wonderland, will simply not be feasible
Fortunately, the silver lining for sketchy people everywhere is that you can still ghost…now, in Ghost Mode.
After you’ve updated the app on either iOS or Android, you’ll want to pinch the screen from Snapchat’s main camera mode in order to get to Snap Map. From there, you’ll be able to set up the Snap Map feature, and it’ll ask you right off the bat who you would like to share your location with. Instead of selecting “My Friends” or “Select Friends,” make sure you tap “Only Me Ghost Mode” if you want to keep your location private.
Read this next: There’s A New Web Series About Ghosting And Why It’s The Worst
Having second thoughts about broadcasting your location?
Don’t worry, you’re allowed to change your mind anytime. Here’s how you can hide your location on Snap Map either during the initial set-up or afterwards, depending on when you want to go into stealth mode.
The only possible way that Instagram can one-up Snapchat with Snap Maps is to actually invent invisibility cloaks. We’ll standby for that.
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