Snapchat adds custom arrival alerts to Snap Map

On Monday, Snapchat announced the launch of “Arrival Notifications,” a new feature that allows users to set location-based alerts for their friends. The tool expands on the platform’s existing “Home Safe” feature, which lets users notify friends and family when they have arrived home safely. With the new Arrival Notifications, users can now set one-time or recurring alerts for locations beyond their home, providing an automatic way to share when they have arrived at specific places.

According to the company, “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.”

To use the new feature, users must share their location with a trusted friend that they want to keep in the loop. Location sharing on Snap Map—Snapchat’s location-sharing feature—is off by default, meaning no one can see a user’s location or receive an alert unless the user explicitly chooses to share it. To set up the alerts, users tap on their friendship profile, scroll to the feature, select a location on the map, and assign it a custom name. For example, a user could set a location for a weekly class or practice. They can then choose between a one-time or recurring alert, after which Snapchat will notify their friend upon arrival. One-time alerts are designed to expire after they are sent or after 24 hours.

This expansion builds on Snap Map, which launched in 2017 as a way for users to see friends’ locations and browse public snaps. The feature has since expanded to offer ways for users to discover local hotspots and find things to do. Snapchat announced last summer that Snap Map has more than 400 million monthly active users. By adding Arrival Notifications, Snapchat is looking to compete with dedicated location-sharing services, such as Life360, a family location-sharing app, and Apple’s “Find My” service.

Why it matters

Snapchat is positioning itself as a direct competitor to dedicated family safety and location-sharing apps, leveraging its massive existing user base on Snap Map to capture more utility-driven engagement.