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TurnOffLocation Apps Snapchat Android

App guide

How to turn off location on Snapchat on Android

Ghost Mode hides you from friends on Snap Map, and Snapchat documents that your location is still shared with Snap while you are in it. The location permission in your phone's settings is a different switch, and it is the one that stops Snapchat receiving your position at all.

Do they get told?Snapchat documents that the friends you pick for location sharing are not notified when you choose them. For Ghost Mode and for turning the app's location permission off, no notification is documented; Snapchat documents only that you stop being visible to anyone else on the Map. It also documents that your last position can sit on Snap Map until it expires, after 24 hours when the device permission is set to Only while using.

Turn on Ghost Mode to hide from the Map

inside the Snapchat app
Path
  1. Snapchat
  2. Map
  3. Map Settings
  4. Ghost Mode
  5. Until Turned Off

From the vendor’s own page · Snapchat Android app, read 2026-09-17 · checked 2026-09-17 · source: Snapchat Support — How do I turn on Ghost Mode?, Snapchat Support — How can I manage how my location data is shared with My AI?, Snapchat Support — How do I share my location on Snap Map?

Do they get told?A notification to friends is not documented for Ghost Mode. What Snapchat does document: your location won't be visible to anyone else on the Map, and your own Bitmoji holds up a blue sign with a ghost icon unless you are sharing your live location. Snapchat also documents that your location is still shared with Snap.
Who can still see you
Off
Your friends on Snap Map
Your location won't be visible to anyone else on the Map until the timer you pick runs out.
Still on
Snapchat itself, and other apps
Snapchat documents that Ghost Mode limits sharing with friends, not with the Snapchat app, and other apps keep their own permission.
Still visible
The network, and Map Snaps
Your carrier and your IP address still place the phone, and Snaps you submit to Snap Map can still show up on the Map.

Snapchat prints three timer choices — 3 hours, 24 hours, or Until Turned Off — and its own pages place the Map Settings gear both in the bottom right corner and at the top of the Map screen.

Hide your location from certain friends

inside the Snapchat app
Path
  1. Snapchat
  2. My Account
  3. Settings
  4. My Privacy & Data
  5. Who Can See
  6. See My Location
  7. Only These Friends

From the vendor’s own page · Snapchat Android app, read 2026-09-17 · checked 2026-09-17 · source: Snapchat Support — How do I share my location with only select friends on Snapchat?, Snapchat Support — Can everyone see my location on Snap Map?

Do they get told?Snapchat documents that the friends you pick are not told: "Friends you select aren't notified when you choose them." Snapchat also documents that only friends you've chosen to share your location with can see where you're at on Snap Map.
Who can still see you
Off
The friends you leave out
They stop seeing your position on Snap Map, and Snapchat documents that the friends you select are not notified when you choose them.
Still on
The friends you keep selected
They still see your live position, and Snapchat keeps receiving your location while the app holds the permission.
Still visible
The network, and screenshots
Your carrier still places the phone, and Snapchat documents that your location may appear in screenshots and Map Snaps friends take.

Snapchat prints the same choice on the Map itself: open the Map, tap the gear icon at the top of the Map screen, then tap Only These Friends or My Friends, Except…

Remove Snapchat's location permission

in Android Settings
Path
  1. Settings
  2. Apps
  3. Snapchat
  4. Permissions
  5. Location
  6. Don't allow

From the vendor’s own page · Android (current release), read 2026-09-17 · checked 2026-09-17 · source: Android Help — Change app permissions on your Android phone, Snapchat Support — How can I manage how my location data is shared with My AI?, Snapchat Support — How long does my location stay on Snap Map?

Do they get told?A notification to friends is not documented for turning off Snapchat's location permission. What Snapchat documents is how long your last position lingers: set to Always it stays on Snap Map until you turn it off or it expires, and set to Only while using it expires after 24 hours. Snapchat also documents that your location data may still be cached after you turn permissions off.
Who can still see you
Off
Snapchat on this Android phone
Snapchat stops receiving your position from Android, so there is nothing new for it to put on the Map.
Still on
Every other app on the phone
Your phone's location stays on for every other app, and Android keeps its own location services running.
Still visible
The network, and cached data
Cell towers and your IP still place the phone, and Snapchat documents that location data may still be cached after permissions are off.

Snapchat's own help page prints a shortcut instead: press and hold the Snapchat app icon, tap App info, tap Permissions, tap Location, then choose DENY.

Location spoofing, fake-GPS apps and mock-location settings are outside this site on purpose. This page describes the settings the app and your phone provide, and what the vendor documents about them.

If someone is tracking you against your will, turning a setting off may not be the safest first step. Read this first.

Every platform this site carries for Snapchat is on the Snapchat guide.

Related

Before you tap

Question Does Snapchat notify when you turn off location? Not documented. Snapchat's Ghost Mode page does not say whether friends are told; it says only that in Ghost Mode your location "won't be visible to anyone else on the Map." The one notification sentence Snapchat prints runs the other way: "Friends you select aren't notified when you choose them." Question Does airplane mode turn off location? No. Airplane mode is a switch for radios: Apple's page says it "turns off all radios except for Bluetooth", and Google's says Wi-Fi and Bluetooth go off with it. Neither company's airplane-mode page mentions Location Services, GPS or location of any kind. Question How to turn off location without notifying It depends on the app, and only Apple and Snapchat answer it in writing. Apple says the person you stop sharing with won't be notified, and its own safety guide adds that they may notice you have stopped; Snapchat says friends you pick for a location setting aren't notified when you choose them. Life360, Google Maps and Instagram document what the other person's screen shows instead, which is not the same promise. App guide Instagram Instagram has three separate location switches, and turning one off leaves the other two on. The Instagram map at the top of your inbox decides who sees where you are, a location tag is added to one post at a time, and the app's permission in your phone's settings is a third switch that Instagram's own page calls separate from the map. App guide Find My Find My has one switch per person, a one-day pause per person, and one master switch for everyone; Messages, Maps and Contacts all reach the same share. Apple's sharing page says the person you stop sharing with is not notified. Apple's safety guide adds that they may notice you have stopped. iOS 27 · iPadOS 27 iPhone & iPad One master switch, one switch per app, and a precise-or-approximate choice underneath each. Most people want the second one.