How to Change Your Settings on Snapchat
Learn how to edit four critical Snapchat privacy settings to protect yourself online. Social media channels, websites, and other online apps use your location data to track. However, did you know that other Snapchat users can see where you are on the map as well? Cool features like the Snapchat map let other users know where you are, and you may be surprised how accurate the map is. In some areas, other map users can see what building you are in.
Even if you shut off your Snapchat map, there is another level of tracking going on. Other major social media channels, like Facebook, track your location to sell that data (anonymously) to advertisers. So, besides the map, there are a few more settings to change to protect your privacy
Use Ghost Mode – Snapchat ghost mode allows you to hide your location from the map. For a set amount of time, you will be able to go incognito and disappear from the map. A more permanent alternative is to disable the map feature all together.
An obvious but sometime over looked privacy feature on that applies to Facebook and Snapchat is to not add strangers as social media friends. Don’t add strangers as friends. It is common sense, but if you are concerned about people tracing you down in person, then don’t follow or friend stranger. Keep in mind stranger friends can find you via the map. If you are a public figure or otherwise need to use social media for your career, then create an alternative profile that only shows work related posts and leave your family and personal life off of the public figure version of you. Facebook has this feature, and it is a version of Facebook pages. For Snapchat you’d simply create another profile.
Change your privacy settings so your Snapchat snaps are only shared with people you are friends with. The default setting is all snaps are public wo all followers when saved to your story. Choose to send snaps directly to friends by selecting them from your list of friends.
Finally, turn off location data on your phone or at least deny Snapchat the access to it. Do you love those geofilters on Snapchat? That’s your location data sharing at work! TO turn this off, either go into your device’s settings and stop sharing is globally to all apps, or turn it off for Snapchat specifically.