Concerned parents are laying the smackdown on Snapchat (NYSE:SNAP) over an update to its mobile app that shows publicly posted images and videos on a searchable map.
SnapMap - which was launched on Wednesday - allows users to search for places, including schools, and view videos and pictures posted by children inside. The app also lets people locate where their friends are on a map.
Parents expressed outrage after St Peter's Academy in Staffordshire warned parents that SnapMap lets people "locate exactly where you are, which building you are in and exact whereabouts within the building".
One parent called the app "dangerous" while another said she could not find the setting to disable it, the BBC reported.
Snap told the BBC that the location detection feature was designed to allow users find their friends to meet at places where they might get lost, such as a crowded festival. The company added that points of interest on the map, such as schools, were provided by third-party mapping service Mapbox.
the new snapchat location feature makes me so scared, i don't think they understand how many creeps there are in the world
— Raphael Gomes (@raphablueberry) 23 June 2017
The new snapchat update showing you ur friends location will make it easier to see where you didn't get invited to
— Kermit (@ltsKermit) 23 June 2017