There are two ways to get on Snap Map. To show your Bitmoji to friends, open the Map, tap the gear and choose who can see your location; to get a snap on the Map for everyone, take a snap, tap Send To, choose Snap Map, and send.
Those two do very different things. The first is private and limited to friends you pick. The second is public: anyone looking at that area of the Map can see your snap. Most people only want the first one, so it's worth being clear which you're doing before you tap anything.
The two ways to appear on the Map
| What appears | Who can see it | How you turn it on | How you turn it off |
|---|---|---|---|
| Your Bitmoji at your location | Only friends you choose | Map settings: My Friends, My Friends Except, or Only These Friends | Turn on Ghost Mode |
| A snap you submit | Anyone viewing that area of the Map | Send a snap to Snap Map | Ghost Mode doesn't remove it |
Location sharing is off by default and works only with friends you choose (Snapchat Support). So nobody sees your Bitmoji on the Map unless you've switched it on yourself.
Open Snap Map first
You can get to the Map in two ways from the Camera screen:
- Pinch your fingers together on the camera, as if you're zooming out.
- Or tap the map icon at the bottom left of the screen.
The Map opens on your area and shows any friends who share their location with you. If a menu name looks different in your version, search Snapchat's settings for the word "Map" or "location".
Share your location with chosen friends
- Open the Map.
- Tap the gear icon to open the Map settings.
- Under who can see your location, choose one option: My Friends, My Friends Except (all friends minus the people you pick), or Only These Friends (just the people you pick).
- If you chose one of the last two, select the friends from the list.
- Close the settings. Your Bitmoji now shows on the Map for the people you picked.
Your phone also needs to allow Snapchat to use location. If the Map can't find you, check your phone's settings and give Snapchat location permission while you're using the app. My full guide on how to share your location on Snapchat covers the permission steps and what each friend setting means.
Submit a snap to Snap Map for everyone
This is the route for people who want a snap to appear publicly on the Map, for example at an event, a festival or a new venue.
- Take a photo or a video with the capture button.
- Tap Send To.
- Choose Snap Map. In some versions it's shown together with Spotlight as one option.
- Send the snap.
Once it's sent, your snap can show up for people browsing that part of the Map. You don't need to be sharing your Bitmoji for this to work. The two features are separate.
The catch: a snap you submit to Snap Map is public. Anyone viewing that area can see it, and it may stay visible for a while. Your exact address isn't shown with it, but the area is. And Ghost Mode hides your Bitmoji, not snaps you've already submitted, so switching to Ghost Mode afterwards won't pull them back.
That's why I'd never send a snap to the Map from home, school or work. A snap filmed in your garden, with your street in the background and the area shown on the Map, gives away more than you'd want.
Ghost Mode: hide your Bitmoji in seconds
Ghost Mode stops friends from seeing where you are on the Map, even if you'd chosen to share your location with them before.
- Open the Map.
- Tap the gear icon.
- Turn on Ghost Mode.
While Ghost Mode is on, your Bitmoji disappears from the Map for everyone. You can still open the Map and look around. Turn it off the same way when you want friends to see you again.
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Remember what it doesn't do: Ghost Mode doesn't touch snaps you've submitted to Snap Map, and it doesn't hide a place you've tagged on a Story. Those follow their own rules.
When the Map can't find you
If you open the Map and your own Bitmoji isn't where you are, or the Map won't load your area, work through these:
- Check location permission. On iPhone, open your phone's Settings, find Snapchat, tap Location and choose While Using. On Android, open Snapchat's app permissions in your phone's settings and allow location.
- Make sure location services are switched on for the whole phone.
- Check Ghost Mode isn't on. If it's on, friends won't see you, even though everything else is set up.
- Close Snapchat fully and open it again.
- Update the app from your app store.
It's also worth reviewing your friend list in the Map settings every so often. People you added years ago can still be on My Friends, and you may not want all of them seeing where you are. Switching to Only These Friends with a short, current list fixes that in one go.
Which one should you use?
| You want to | Use this |
|---|---|
| Let a few friends know where you are on a night out | Only These Friends |
| Share with most friends but leave out one or two | My Friends Except |
| Disappear from the Map for a while | Ghost Mode |
| Show off a public event to anyone nearby | Submit a snap to Snap Map |
| Share something with a small group only | A private Story, not the Map |
For the last one, a private Story on Snapchat is the better tool, because you choose exactly who sees it and nothing ends up on a public Map.
My privacy verdict
Share your location with a few people you trust, never with everyone. If it were my account, I'd use Only These Friends with a short list, keep Ghost Mode on by default, and only submit a snap to the Map from a busy public place after I'd already moved on. For a business at an event, a public snap is a nice way to get noticed by people nearby, as long as it's filmed at the venue, not somewhere personal.
Frequently asked questions
How do I open Snap Map?
Pinch your fingers together on the Camera screen, or tap the map icon at the bottom left. The Map opens and shows your friends who share their location with you.
Is my location on Snap Map by default?
No. Location sharing is off by default, and when you turn it on it only works with friends you choose (Snapchat Support).
Does Ghost Mode remove snaps I submitted to Snap Map?
No. Ghost Mode hides your Bitmoji from friends on the Map. It doesn't hide snaps you've already submitted to Snap Map, which are public.
Can strangers see me on Snap Map?
Strangers can't see your Bitmoji, because location sharing only works with friends you choose. They can see any snap you submit to Snap Map, along with the general area it came from.
