Snapchat Arrival Notifications: Share Location & Enhance Safety

Snapchat is expanding its location-sharing features, allowing users to share their arrival at destinations beyond their homes with selected friends. The update, announced as part of “Safer Internet Day,” builds upon a feature introduced earlier in 2025 that enabled users to notify friends upon reaching their home location via Snap Map.

The expanded functionality allows Snapchat users to set one-time or recurring arrival notifications for locations such as schools, workplaces, or social gatherings. According to a company statement, the aim is to provide a more convenient and less intrusive way to keep friends and family informed of one’s whereabouts. “Arrival Notifications now work for everyday moments — like letting someone know you’re back for the night while traveling, or automatically sharing when you arrive at a weekly class, practice, or meeting — without needing to remember to send a message,” Snapchat said.

Users maintain control over who receives these notifications. Location information is only shared with trusted friends with whom the user has already enabled location sharing. A one-time alert will expire after being sent or within 24 hours. To activate the feature, users navigate to a friend’s profile, scroll to the “Arrival Notifications” section, select a location on the map, and assign a custom name to it – for example, “run club” or “piano lessons.” They can then choose between a one-time or recurring alert option.

The introduction of expanded Arrival Notifications positions Snapchat to compete more directly with location-sharing applications like Life360 and Apple’s “Identify My” service. These apps offer similar functionality, allowing users to share their real-time location with designated contacts, often marketed as a safety feature for families and individuals. Snapchat’s approach, however, emphasizes user control and the ability to share location information for specific events rather than continuous tracking.