Snapchat’s Public ‘Heat map’ For Ukraine Has Been Disabled

In response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Snapchat has temporarily blocked its heat map. By finding regions with high numbers of Ukrainians, Russia may have exploited the feature to plan military attacks.

In a tweet on Friday, Snapchat confirmed the move.

What’s New?

“We’ve temporarily blocked the Snap Map’s heat map of public Snaps in Ukraine as a safety precaution,” the business said. “We’ll keep offering curated Stories made up of Snaps submitted in Ukraine,” says the company.

Snapchat users all around the world may typically upload their Snaps to the heat map, which displays the number of Snaps taken by location. Areas that show blue on the map suggest that the area has a small number of Snaps, whereas red areas indicate that the area has a large number of Snaps.

What’s More?

Snapchat also banned ad sales to Russia earlier this week and announced a $15 million humanitarian aid donation to Ukraine.

“We stand in solidarity with our Ukrainian team members and the people of Ukraine as they struggle for their lives and independence,” the firm wrote in a blog post announcing the move on Tuesday. “War is a blight on humanity, and it poses a direct threat to many of our team members and their families in this case. We’re hoping for their well-being and serenity.”

Digging In More Details

Other tech corporations have begun to retaliate against Russia for its aggression in Ukraine.

Apple said this week that it has ceased all product sales in Russia and is removing the RT News and Sputnik News applications from the App Store. Meanwhile, Twitter has announced that tweets connecting to Russian state-affiliated media sites would be labelled.

 

References:

1. 1. https://techilive.in/snapchat-turns-off-public-heatmap-for-ukraine/
   2. https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/science-technology/snapchat-turns-off-public-heatmap-for-ukraine-375361
   3. https://www.engadget.com/snapchat-disables-heatmap-feature-ukraine-154342214.html