Ever wanted to show your friends exactly where you are on Snapchat? Sharing your live location is a great way to meet up, show them a cool spot you’ve found, or just let them know you’re on your way. You can easily learn how to share your live location on Snapchat in just a few taps. It’s a built-in feature that helps you connect with your friends in real-time.
But what if you want more control? What if you want to be on the Snap Map, but not necessarily at your exact location? In this guide, we’ll cover everything. We’ll start with the simple steps for sharing your real location. Then, we’ll show you the ultimate trick to control what your friends see, letting you change your location for privacy, fun, or even to unlock special features.
Simple Guide to Share Your Live Location on Snapchat
Snapchat makes sharing your whereabouts simple and intuitive. You have the power to decide who sees your location and for how long. Let’s walk through the basic methods.

How to Share Your Live Location with Specific Friends
Maybe you only want one or two people to know where you are. This is the most common way to share your location and is done directly through your chat with a friend.
- Open Snapchat and swipe right to the Chat screen.
- Tap on the chat with the friend you want to share your location with.
- Tap the + (plus) icon on the left of the chatbox.
- Select Location from the menu.
- A map will appear showing your current spot. Tap the blue button that says Share Live Location.
- A pop-up will ask you to choose a duration: 15 min, 1 Hour, or 8 Hours. Select one.
- Your live location will now appear in your chat with that friend. They can tap on it to see you move in real-time on a map.

How to Share Your Location with All Friends (Excluding Some)
If you want most of your friends to see you on the Snap Map, you can set that up in your privacy settings. This lets you be visible to a group without sharing in every single chat.
- From the Camera screen, swipe down or tap your Bitmoji in the top-left corner to go to your Profile.
- Tap the Settings gear icon in the top-right.
- Scroll down to Privacy Controls and tap on See My Location.
- Here, you have a few options:
- My Friends: All your friends can see you.
- My Friends, Except…: This lets you show your location to all friends except for a few people you select.
- Only These Friends…: Lets you create a specific list of people who can see your location.

Understanding the Snap Map and How Your Location Appears
The Snap Map is more than just a location-sharing tool; it’s a global map where you can see what your friends are up to. When you share your location, your Actionmoji (your Bitmoji character) appears on the map at your precise location.
If you haven’t opened the app in a few hours, your Actionmoji will fade. After about 8 hours, it disappears from the map completely until you open Snapchat again. This prevents your location from being broadcast when you’re not actively using the app.
How to Stop, Hide, or Pause Your Location Sharing on Snapchat
Your privacy on Snap Map is entirely in your hands. Snapchat provides built-in tools to let you go off the grid whenever you want. The most powerful of these is Ghost Mode, which you can find in your location settings. Activating it makes your location completely invisible to all of your friends at once.

If you only want to hide from certain people, you can either stop sharing your live location directly within your chat or manage your privacy lists to exclude specific friends. This gives you precise control over who can see where you are. These features are great for basic privacy, but they only offer two choices: on or off.
For a deep dive into every method, including the subtle differences between pausing and stopping your location, you can read our detailed guide on how to make your location stay in one spot. For troubleshooting common issues, refer to our article on Snap Map not working.
The Secret Method: How to Share a Custom Location on Snapchat with LocaRun
So, how do you actually change your location? Hiding it is built into Snapchat, but setting a custom one requires a special tool. This is where LocaRun comes in. For more general information on how to add location on Snapchat, check out our dedicated guide.
What is LocaRun
LocaRun is a powerful and easy-to-use computer program that lets you change the GPS location of your smartphone. It works by telling your phone’s operating system that you are somewhere else. Because this change happens at the system level, every app on your phone that uses location data—including Snapchat—will believe you are at the new location you’ve set. It’s safe, secure, and incredibly effective.
Here are LocaRun’s 5 core features:
- One-Click GPS Location Modification: Easily change your phone’s GPS location to anywhere in the world with a single click.
- System-Wide Application: The modified location data applies across all GPS-dependent applications on your phone (e.g., Snapchat, maps, games, dating apps).
- Realistic Movement Simulation: Set a starting and ending point and simulate realistic movement paths at walking, cycling, or driving speeds.
- Enhanced Privacy Protection: It’s a secure and reliable tool that modifies only your phone’s GPS data at a system level, making it difficult for apps to detect.
- Cross-Platform Compatibility: LocaRun supports both Mac and Windows computers, and works seamlessly with both iPhone and Android devices.
How to Use LocaRun to Set a Custom Location on Snapchat
Step 1. Download and Install LocaRun
Head over to the official LocaRun website and download the software for your Mac or Windows computer. Follow the simple on-screen instructions to install it.

Step 2. Connect Your Phone
Launch LocaRun on your computer and connect your phone (iPhone or Android) via a USB cable. Follow the prompts to make sure your device is trusted and connected.

Step 3. Set Your Location
You’ll see a world map. You can either type a specific address into the search bar or just pan and zoom around the map to find a spot. Once you find your desired location, simply click on it and then hit the “Move Here” button.

Step 4. Open Snapchat and Amaze Your Friends
Now, grab your phone and open Snapchat. When you share your location, either in a chat or on the Snap Map, it will show the custom location you just set with LocaRun. Your friends will see your Actionmoji pop up in Paris, London, or wherever else you decided to “be.”
FAQs
Conclusion
Whether you want to share your precise real-time location with friends or explore the fun and privacy benefits of changing your location, Snapchat offers the tools. While built-in features handle basic sharing and privacy, a powerful tool like LocaRun unlocks a new level of control, allowing you to customize your presence on the Snap Map for privacy, entertainment, or accessing unique content. With the right approach, you can master your Snapchat location settings and enjoy a more dynamic and personalized experience.

Hi, I’m Julia, a digital privacy specialist at Locarun. I write about our GPS location changer tool and how it helps protect your online privacy. My passion lies in making cybersecurity and geolocation technology accessible to everyone. I focus on practical solutions for data protection and accessing region-specific content. Let me guide you through improving your digital privacy with straightforward, effective approaches.