3 Ways to Pause Snapchat Location Without Turning it Off

Location data is among the most updated pieces of personal information you can have about someone. Naturally, you would want not to share it with someone without authority, or at least not always. You might or might not know this, but Snapchat, one of the most popular social media apps, can use your real-time location as a part of its Snap Map feature to show your live location to others.

Before you freak out, it’s probably because you had permitted Snapchat to use your device’s location while setting up the app. It’s one of those things we ignore and often end up granting all the permissions the app asks. However, it’s not the end of the road, as you can easily pause Snapchat location, not necessarily after turning it off. Read along to know more.

How to Pause Snapchat Location Without Turning it Off

Turn On Ghost Mode

If you are unfamiliar with Ghost Mode, consider it to be Snapchat’s incognito mode. It helps hide your location from your friends on Snapchat, so they won’t be able to view your location on Snap Map. The best part about Ghost Mode is that you can turn it off automatically in case you forget to. It’s the best way to pause Snapchat’s location without turning it off. Here is how you can do so –

Method 1:

1. Open the Snapchat app on your smartphone.
2. Select your profile icon from the top-left corner.
3. Scroll down and click on the option below Snap Map.
4. Tap the toggle beside Ghost Mode to enable it.
5. You can choose your preferred duration: 3 hours, 24 hours, or Until turned off. The latter keeps Ghost Mode enabled until you turn it off.
   

Method 2:

There’s one more way you can enable Ghost Mode in Snapchat. To do so,

1. Open the Snapchat app on your smartphone.
2. Enter the Friends section from the bottom toolbar.
3. Click on the faps icon at the bottom.
4. Tap the gear icon in the top-right corner to enter Snap Map settings.
5. Tap the toggle beside Ghost Mode to enable it.
6. You can choose your preferred duration: 3 hours, 24 hours, or Until turned off. Again, ‘Until turned off’ keeps Ghost Mode enabled until you turn it off.
   

No matter which method you choose, Ghost Mode, besides hiding your location information, also hides your profile picture until the feature is turned off. This means your friends can easily tell if you have enabled Ghost Mode, but the trade-off is worth it if you ask us because you get to enjoy privacy from nosy friends.

Turn Off Precise Location

Newer iPhones and Androids provide you with two options to choose from when granting location access to an app. You can choose between approximate and precise, in which the former doesn’t allow the app to have your pinpoint location. This can be used to pause Snapchat location without turning it off. To do so,

On Android

1. On your Android device, go to System Settings.
2. Enter App settings by scrolling down a bit.
3. Select App Management to access the app settings of all the apps installed on your device.
4. Scroll down and enter Snapchat settings.
5. Tap on Permissions and enter Snpachat’s Location settings.
6. Disable the toggle beside Use Precise Location.
   

On iPhone

1. Open your iPhone’s System Settings.
2. Scroll down and click on Apps to enter app settings.
3. Find Snapchat and click on it.
4. Tap on Location within Snapchat settings.
5. Turn off the toggle beside Precise Location.
   

Even though you are turning off access to your device’s precise location, Snapchat can still access your approximate location without any restrictions. Regardless, it’s a good enough measure to enjoy Snap Map without compromising much on privacy.

Restrict Location Access

With the surface-level measures away, it’s time to use something a lot more effective, that is, restricting Snapchat’s location access using your phone’s settings. Here is what you need to do:

On Android

1. On your Android device, go to System Settings.
2. Enter App settings by scrolling down a bit.
3. Select App Management to access the app settings of all the apps installed on your device.
4. Scroll down and enter Snapchat settings.
5. Tap on Permissions and enter Snpachat’s Location settings.
6. Under ‘Location access for this app,’ you will be presented with four options to choose from.
   i. Allow all the time
   ii. Allow only while using the app
   iii. Ask every time
   iv. Don’t allow
   

On iPhone

1. Open your iPhone’s System Settings.
2. Scroll down and click on Apps to enter app settings.
3. Find Snapchat and click on it.
4. Tap on Location within Snapchat settings.
5. Under ‘Allow Location Access,’ you will find four options to choose from.
   i. Never
   ii. Ask next time or when I share
   iii. While using the app
   iv. Always
   

The Allow all the time and Always options on Android and iPhones, respectively, grant Snapchat unrestricted access to your device’s real-time location even if the app isn’t being used. For obvious reasons, we wouldn’t recommend using these options. The While using the app option is much better, as it only lets Snapchat access your device’s location if the app is opened and being used.

The Ask every time and Ask next time or when I share options on Android and iPhones, respectively, force Snapchat to ask for permission before accessing your device’s location. The final options, Never on iPhones and Don’t Allow on Android, completely block Snapchat’s access to your device’s location. These options are recommended if you don’t want Snapchat to access your device’s location in any way or at any time.

Do note that if your location isn’t updated every 24 hours, your profile picture will vanish from Snap Map, similar to that in Ghost Mode. So, logging in regularly is essential to prevent it from happening.

Pause Snapchat Location With Ease

Keeping our online identities safe has always been challenging, especially on social media apps. Privacy begins with taking adequate measures, the easiest of which is ensuring no one has access to your location. Apps like Snapchat often take this a bit too far, notifying the other party of every activity you do within the app.

Thankfully, restricting Snapchat’s location access is a child’s play using the above procedures. While enabling Ghost Node may not be the right thing to do in every situation, you can easily get away with other measures, such as turning off Snapchat’s access to your device’s precise location, only allowing it to access location data when the app is open, or disabling location access entirely.