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- Snapchat has temporarily shut down its heat map of public Snaps in Ukraine “as a safety precaution.”
- The feature uses colors to indicate the volume of Snaps taken by location.
- Russia could have used the feature for military purposes to identify areas where many Ukrainians are concentrated.
Snapchat has temporarily disabled its heat map in Ukraine amid Russia’s invasion of the country. Russia could have used the feature to plot military attacks by identifying areas with high concentrations of Ukrainians.
Snapchat announced the change in a tweet Friday.
“As a safety precaution we have temporarily disabled the Snap Map’s heatmap of public Snaps in Ukraine,” the company said. “We will continue to offer curated Stories comprised of Snaps submitted in Ukraine.”
Typically, Snapchat users around the world can submit their Snaps to the heat map, which shows the concentration of Snaps taken by location. Areas that appear blue on the map indicate that relatively few people posted Snaps in the area, whereas red areas on the map indicate that many people posted Snaps there.
Earlier this week, Snapchat also halted ad sales to Russia and announced it will donate $15 million in humanitarian aid to support Ukraine.
“We stand in solidarity with our Ukrainian team members and the people of Ukraine who are fighting for their lives and for their freedom,” the company said in a blog post Tuesday announcing the news. “War is a scourge on our collective humanity, and in this case, it is a direct threat to many of our team members and their families. We are praying for their safety and for peace.”
Other tech companies have also begun cracking down on Russia for its attack on Ukraine.
Apple said this week it has halted all product sales in Russia and is removing the apps for state media outlets RT News and Sputnik News from the App Store. Meanwhile, Twitter announced it’s adding labels to tweets linking to Russian state-affiliated media sites.
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