Snapchat is quietly rolling out a brand new “Footsteps” characteristic to all iOS customers this week, the corporate confirmed to TechCrunch on Monday. The brand new characteristic, which was beforehand solely accessible to Snapchat+ subscribers, makes use of Snap Map to allow you to see how a lot of the world you’ve explored and monitor the place you’ve traveled to.
The primary time you employ Footsteps, your first steps shall be primarily based on Snaps in your Reminiscences, which implies that your previous journeys nonetheless depend. After that, Snapchat received’t use any extra Reminiscences so as to add to your Footsteps, and can as an alternative monitor your travels utilizing location information.
Snapchat can solely populate your Footsteps when you don’t have Ghost Mode on, which is a setting that stops Snapchat from displaying your location to your folks.
The brand new characteristic comes as Snapchat continues to compete with Instagram and TikTok. By constructing out its Snap Map product, the corporate is strengthening considered one of its key variations from its rivals, each of which don’t supply the same characteristic (that may change, as Instagram has confirmed it’s growing a “Friends Map” characteristic).
With this new characteristic, Snap Map will inform you what number of nations you’ve traveled to, and the way a lot of an space you’ve explored. For example, the app would possibly show that you’ve got explored 30.4% of your metropolis. Or, when you traveled to a brand new nation over the summer season, the app would possibly inform you that you simply explored 5% of Paris.
These percentages are primarily based on the totally different locations the place you took and saved Snaps. It’s price noting that the chances will solely be correct when you’re an avid consumer of the app and sometimes save Snaps as a result of they’re primarily based in your saved Reminiscences.
Going ahead, the Map will use location information to point out you precise Footsteps on the Map primarily based on the place you journey to.
Your Footsteps are solely seen to you, and you may flip the characteristic off or clear your Footsteps information by going into your Profile and tapping the “Settings” button. Subsequent, that you must scroll all the way down to the “Account Actions” part and faucet “Map.” Then, toggle off “Save new Footsteps as my location updates on the map” to show off Footsteps. To clear your Footsteps information, faucet “Clear Footsteps History.”
The characteristic is considerably much like Google Maps’ “Timeline” characteristic that tracks journeys you’ve taken and locations you’ve been primarily based in your Location Historical past.
Snapchat sees the brand new characteristic as a method to monitor your travels and in addition share your adventures with your folks with a customized sticker that showcases your travels.
A spokesperson for the corporate advised TechCrunch that the corporate plans to roll out the characteristic to Android customers quickly.
