Snapchat just announced a new feature within Snap Map called Map Explore, which will give updates to users when their friends travel to places or attend events, provided they share location-enabled Snaps, of course.
The new feature works by opening up the Snap Map section of the Snapchat app, which will now display cards along the bottom of the interface listing various information such as friends, where they are, and what sort of events they're going to. For example, if a person takes a trip via plane, a card in Map Explore might say something along the lines of "[Friend's name] flew from [city] to [another city]."
Users can swipe through various cards to look at updates on other friends and also latest events, such as concerts or sports games. Map Explore is a pretty simple concept designed to let other people know what their friends are doing at any given time. Sounds creepy, right? But, really, how different is that from the rest of social media channels designed in similar ways?
"Every day millions of people use Snap Map to catch up with their friends and see amazing Stories from around the world," writes Snap Inc. in a blog post.
"Today we're introducing Explore — your tour guide to what's happening on your Snap Map! Just tap 'New Updates' to get started."
How To Access Map Explore
To open Map Explore, simply pinch to zoom out from the app's camera screen. Tap on new updates at the bottom of the screen and swipe through the cards to see what your friends are doing. If this sounds too creepy, simply turn on Ghost Mode by tapping on the settings icon in the top right hand of the map.
Map Explore will show Explore updates for Our Story snaps, plus breaking news and other events from all over the world.
Snap Map
Snapchat's Snap Map was launched in 2017 as a way for users to share their location. Friends who share their location appear in this by virtue of Bitmoji, and their snaps can be viewed based on where they took them. There's also the aforementioned Our Story feature, which gathers content made from a particular location or event.
Map Explore is poised to roll out worldwide over the next few weeks.
What do you think? Does Map Explore appeal to you? Do you think Snapchat should veer away from location-centric features? As always, feel free to sound off in the comments section below!
