Snapchat adds Arrival Notifications to help users feel safer

Ahead of Safer Internet Day (Feb. 10), Snapchat has launched a new way to feel safer while out and about (but still online).

Users can now turn on Arrival Notifications to alert their contacts when they've reached their intended destination — similar to the location alerts on Apple's Find My, but designed for those addicted to their Snap Map. More than 400 million users visit the Snap Map every month, according to the platform.

The arrival alerts can be set for single, 24-hour periods or on a recurring basis for repeated trips beyond their home, and your location will only be sent to friends you choose to share your location with, the company explains. Location sharing on the public Snap Map is still turned off by default.

To share Arrival Notifications, users can tap on their friend's profile, hit "view friendship," and turn on "Arrival Notifications." Users can customize the precise location and names for alerts.

Snapchat added location alerts for parents monitoring teen users in 2024. When enabled, the app alerts parents when their child's location has moved on the Snap Map and parents can request their child's location at any time. The platform also added new parental control features in January, following the company's settlement in a social media addiction lawsuit that also named competitors TikTok, Google, and Meta.