Snapchat will now let your friends know you’ve made it home safe

Snapchat, the popular social network, has rolled out an innovative new feature called “Home Safe” designed to offer users and their loved ones greater peace of mind. Announced recently, this new functionality allows users to easily notify friends and family once they have safely arrived home after an outing, be it a first date, a bustling concert, or a weekend trip.

Utilizing the Home Safe feature is straightforward and integrated with Snap Map. To begin, users must designate their home location by tapping their Bitmoji on Snap Map and selecting “My Home.” When preparing to head home and wishing to inform a friend, simply open the chat conversation, tap the Map icon, and then select the Home Safe button. Upon arrival at their designated home location, an automatic alert will be sent directly to the friend within the chat conversation, providing instant reassurance.

Snapchat emphasizes the importance of privacy and user control with this new addition. Home Safe alerts can only be sent to friends with whom a user already shares their location on Snap Map. Crucially, location sharing on Snap Map remains off by default. This ensures that no one can view a user’s location or receive a Home Safe alert unless the user explicitly chooses to enable and share their location with specific friends.

“Whether you’re heading back from a first date, a crowded concert, or a weekend getaway, Home Safe can offer a close friend or family member peace of mind that you’ve made it home safely,” Snapchat stated in a recent announcement, highlighting the feature’s practical benefits for personal safety and connection.

This development arrives shortly after Snapchat celebrated a significant milestone for its Snap Map feature, which now boasts over 400 million monthly active users. Launched in 2017, Snap Map initially served as a dynamic platform for users to view friends’ locations and explore public Snaps globally. Over the years, it has evolved considerably, expanding its capabilities to include features like discovering local hotspots and identifying nearby activities, transforming into a comprehensive discovery tool within the Snapchat ecosystem.

The introduction of Home Safe underscores Snapchat’s ongoing commitment to enhancing user safety and fostering meaningful connections, leveraging its established mapping technology to address real-world needs.