Snap Inc. just raised the stakes in the battle to beat out Instagram (check out our most recent comparison of the two apps here). Today on the Snap blog, the company introduced its latest feature: Snap Map. Snap Map is exactly what it sounds like; you can now see your fellow Snappers’ locations in real-time and Stories from the most popular events near you. We’re breaking down what this new (potentially stalking) feature is and how to use it.

To open Snap Map, simply go to your homepage and pinch two fingers together. You’ll be brought to a live map where you can see your own location via your Bitmoji and the locations of your friends. You can either share your location with all your Snap friends or only choose a select few. If you’re a bit creeped out about letting your Snapchat friends view your location, you can set your location to Ghost Mode to remove yourself from the Map.
Besides showing you the locations of your Snap friends, Snap Map will also bring you to the areas where the most popular snaps are shared to the “Our Story” collaborative feature. These snaps could range anywhere from a local event, concert, sporting game, and more. The map additionally shows you heat zones where snaps are being taken. You can click on those heat zones and see public snap Stories from people in that area. You’ll also be able to browse photos and videos from locations all around the world, including breaking news events happening live.
According to Jack Brody, one of the app’s designers, the feature isn’t about “figuring out how to get to your destination, but about discovering where you want to go.” We don’t know about you, but we’ll definitely be using the Snap Map to stalk our friends. Regardless, this new feature is a great way to connect people from all over the world and definitely gives Snap an edge against Instagram. Only time will tell how Instagram, Facebook, and other apps decide to respond.
Have you tried Snap Map yet? Let us know by tweeting us @BIGfishPR!