TechCrunch has confirmed that Snapchat has launched a new feature known as “Footsteps,” which is currently available to all iOS users. This feature, which was previously available only to Snapchat+ subscribers, tracks and displays the places you’ve visited by showing your trip routes using Snap Map. It draws attention to one of Snapchat’s unique features that set it apart from rivals like Instagram and TikTok.
When you use Footsteps for the first time, it gathers information from your Memories Snaps to make sure that the trips you’ve taken in the past are included in your journey. Future location monitoring, however, will not rely on any extra stored Memories rather, it will only use real-time location data. Ghost Mode, which conceals a user’s position from friends on the site, must be disabled in order for Footsteps to work.
The number of specific areas, such as cities or countries, that you have visited is shown on Snap Map. It may, for instance, show that during a journey you have travelled through 30% of your hometown or 5% of London. Nevertheless, as this information is derived from your saved memories and Snaps, regular users with higher Snap storage will have more accurate percentages available.
Only you may view the private data from your Footsteps. You can opt out of the feature or delete your trip information. In order to achieve this, select “Map” under “Account Actions” in Settings, then turn off Footsteps tracking or exclude historical data.
Although this feature will soon be available to Android users as well, Snapchat provides an extra level of customization by allowing users to share their journey milestones with friends through stickers. The idea is similar to that of Google Maps “Timeline,” which uses location data to monitor past travels.