Snapchat’s live location sharing feature allows you to share your real-time location with your friends on the app. This can be useful for meeting up or just letting your friends know where you are. However, you may be wondering who exactly can view your live location when you share it on Snapchat.
Who can see your Snapchat live location?
By default, your live location on Snapchat is only shared with your friends on the app. Snapchat gives you control over who can view your location when you share it live.
Specifically, your live location can be viewed by:
- Friends you’ve added on Snapchat – Any friend that you’ve added and who has added you back on Snapchat can see your live location when you share it. This includes close friends as well as regular friends.
- Friends in specific groups – If you have any groups set up with your friends on Snapchat, you can choose to share your live location with just that group rather than all your friends.
- Individual friends – You can pick and choose which friends you want to share your live location with, rather than broadcasting it to all your Snapchat friends.
So in summary, your Snapchat live location can only be seen by your connections on the app. You have full control over who can view your location when it’s being shared live.
How to control who sees your live location
When you share your live location in Snapchat, you get to pick who gets access before you start sharing. Here are the steps to choose who can see your live location:
- Open the Snapchat app and tap on your profile icon in the top left corner.
- Tap the Settings cog icon in the top right.
- Scroll down and tap Location Services.
- Tap Share Live Location.
- Select either Share for 15 Minutes, Share for 1 Hour or Share for 8 Hours depending on how long you want to share.
- You’ll then see a list of your Snapchat friends. Tap to select each friend you want to share with.
- You can also select any groups you want to share with at the top.
- Once you’ve selected everyone, tap Share Live Location at the bottom.
This will start sharing your live location with the friends and groups you’ve picked. You can stop sharing at any time by going back to Settings > Location Services > Stop Sharing Live Location.
Changing who can see your location
It’s easy to change the friends and groups who have access to your live location at any time after you’ve started sharing:
- Go back to Location Services in your Snapchat settings.
- Tap Share Live Location again.
- This will show you the current list of friends and groups who can see your location.
- Just tap to select or deselect people as needed.
- Tap Share Live Location at the bottom again to update who can see it.
So you have full control to change audience settings even after you’ve started sharing your location live on Snapchat.
Can strangers see your location on Snapchat?
No, strangers and people you haven’t added as friends on Snapchat cannot see your live location being shared. The feature is designed to only share with your network on the app.
Some key points on strangers and your Snapchat location sharing:
- Strangers who don’t have your Snapchat username cannot view your live location at all.
- Even strangers who may have added you but you haven’t added back cannot see your location.
- There is no way to “broadcast” your live location publicly for anyone to access.
- Snapchat does not share your location data with advertisers or third parties.
So you never have to worry about random people tracking your location on Snapchat without your permission.
Can you see who views your Snapchat location?
No, Snapchat does not provide information on which friends tap into your live location sharing. While you can control who can access your location, there is no data on which connections actually view it.
Some things to note:
- You will not get a notification if a friend checks your live location.
- Your friend list does not show who has opened your location sharing.
- Snapchat provides no metrics on views of your location.
- Friends can access your live location without informing you or sending a request.
So while you have control over who can see your location, you do not get info on who actually taps in to view it. Keep this in mind when sharing your live location on Snapchat.
Pro tips for Snapchat location sharing
Here are some top tips to keep in mind when using Snapchat’s live location feature:
- Be selective – Only share your live location with close friends you really trust.
- Avoid oversharing – Consider if constant access to your location is necessary.
- Check settings often – Periodically review who can see your location.
- Turn off when not needed – Stop sharing location as soon as it is no longer required.
- Use groups – Share to specific friend groups instead of all friends when relevant.
- Communicate boundaries – Let friends know if you are not comfortable with location access.
Following these tips will help you share your Snapchat location more responsibly and prevent oversharing with acquaintances.
Can you tell if someone screenshots your location?
No, there is no way to tell if someone takes a screenshot of your shared live location on Snapchat. Some things to note:
- Snapchat does not notify you of screenshots like it does for chats.
- Friends can freely take screenshots without your knowledge.
- You have no way to detect if a screenshot was taken.
- Consider not sharing location with those who you think may screenshot.
So if you are concerned about screenshots, be very selective about who you share live location with on Snapchat.
Conclusion
Snapchat’s live location sharing feature allows you to broadcast your real-time location with friends on the app. You have full control to pick specific friends and groups to share with, instead of all friends.
Strangers and non-friends cannot access your location without your permission. However, you also cannot see which friends view your shared location.
Use Snapchat’s location settings carefully, and avoid oversharing your location unnecessarily. This will help you use the feature in a responsible and privacy-conscious way.
Following the best practices outlined above will enable you to leverage Snapchat’s live map to stay connected with close friends, while avoiding potential downsides.