Latest news with #SnapMaps
The Verge
2 days ago
- The Verge
Instagram's Map is here, and this is how you can turn your location off
It's only been a couple of days since the Instagram Map launched, and from the looks of our social feeds, people are not happy about it. Responses have ranged from being mildly annoyed that Instagram is ripping off Snapchat's Snap Maps instead of offering a default feed that only contains your friends' posts, to high alert outrage about possibly privacy implications and doxing, as well as how domestic violence victims or others could be put at risk of stalking via the app. Meta says the feature is an 'opt-in' only way to share your active location with the friends you choose, or a way to browse the content friends and creators are posting, organized by the locations tagged to their posts and Reels. If the only thing you want to do is turn Instagram Maps location sharing off, here's Instagram's instructions on how to make sure the feature is disabled within the app (on both Android and iOS): If you haven't enabled location access for Instagram, Meta says that the map feature is disabled by default, and you won't be able to access the settings since it doesn't have access to that data. According to Instagram boss Adam Mosseri, people are seeing location-tagged posts and Reels that are also included in the map UI, and assuming that indicates a live-tracked location. 'Your last reel is showing up on the map, not your current location. Your live location is not being shared, and it will never be unless you decide to share it,' writes Mosseri. In another post, he promised, 'We'll get out a few design improvements as quickly as possible,' potentially by next week. Posts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All by Richard Lawler Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All How to Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All Instagram Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All Meta Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All News Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All Privacy Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All Tech
Yahoo
28-07-2025
- Yahoo
Snapchat can automatically let a trusted friend know you got home safe
Snapchat can now let your friends know if you're back home from an outing safe and sound without you having to send a message. The app has launched a new feature called Home Safe, which sends one-time alerts to contacts of your choice. You can only send these alerts to people you already share your location with, and since that off by default, you'd have to activate it on Snap Maps for all your friends or for specific ones. Your friends will only get the notification once, and it will shut off afterward. Home Safe sounds especially useful if you and your friends typically check in on each other after meeting up, if you want to let your parents know you'd gotten back home after going out or if you're a woman who's asked a friend to make sure you got back safe after a first date. To switch the feature on, tap your Bitmoji on the Snap Map and then "My Home" to set your home location. After that, whenever you want to send someone a notification, just open your conversation with then, tap on the Map icon and then tap the "Home Safe" button. The app has had location sharing for a while now, but it has built up the safety feature over the years. It added live location sharing that allows you to share your exact whereabouts to friends in 2022. And last year, it introduced new location tracking abilities to its Family Center, allowing parents to get notifications if their child leaves school or home. Jim Lanzone, the CEO of Engadget's parent company Yahoo, joined the board of directors at Snap on September 12, 2024. No one outside of Engadget's editorial team has any say in our coverage of the company.
Engadget
24-07-2025
- Engadget
Snapchat can automatically let a trusted friend know you got home safe
Snapchat can now let your friends know if you're back home from an outing safe and sound without you having to send a message. The app has launched a new feature called Home Safe, which sends one-time alerts to contacts of your choice. You can only send these alerts to people you already share your location with, and since that off by default, you'd have to activate it on Snap Maps for all your friends or for specific ones. Your friends will only get the notification once, and it will shut off afterward. Home Safe sounds especially useful if you and your friends typically check in on each other after meeting up, if you want to let your parents know you'd gotten back home after going out or if you're a woman who's asked a friend to make sure you got back safe after a first date. To switch the feature on, tap your Bitmoji on the Snap Map and then "My Home" to set your home location. After that, whenever you want to send someone a notification, just open your conversation with then, tap on the Map icon and then tap the "Home Safe" button. The app has had location sharing for a while now, but it has built up the safety feature over the years. It added live location sharing that allows you to share your exact whereabouts to friends in 2022. And last year, it introduced new location tracking abilities to its Family Center, allowing parents to get notifications if their child leaves school or home. Jim Lanzone, the CEO of Engadget's parent company Yahoo, joined the board of directors at Snap on September 12, 2024. No one outside of Engadget's editorial team has any say in our coverage of the company.
Daily Mail
25-04-2025
- Daily Mail
The full inside story of how teenage athlete Audrey Griffin's alleged killer Adrian Torres was spared jail months before she was murdered and he took his own life
The accused killer who allegedly murdered 19-year-old Audrey Griffin was spared jail for sinister offending just months before she was killed. The bombshell revelation came after Adrian Noel Torrens, 53, committed suicide while in custody three days after his arrest for allegedly murdering Ms Griffin. It can be revealed NSW Chief Magistrate Judge Michael Allen spared Torrens jail time when he pleaded guilty to domestic violence offending - instead imposing an 18-month community correction order. Judge Allen sentenced Torrens at Downing Centre Local Court on January 16 after he pleaded guilty to using a carriage service to menace, harass or offend and contravening a domestic AVO in relation to his ex-partner. Torrens also had multiple listings before both Gosford Local Court and the Downing Centre for AVOs taken out to protect a woman believed to be his estranged wife. At the time of his death, Torrens was facing eleven charges other than murder. These included two counts of knowingly contravene an AVO for the third time in 28 days, knowingly contravene an AVO prohibition and eight charges of contravening an AVO. Torrens also had AVOs taken out against him by two different women, in 2018 and in 2014. NSW Chief Magistrate Judge Michael Allen (pictured) spared Torrens jail time in January for domestic violence offending Torrens was supposed to be serving Judge Allen's imposed court order when he allegedly murdered Ms Griffin on Sydney's Central Coast in March. Ms Griffin had spend a night celebrating with friends at the Gosford Hotel on the night of March 22. She left the pub at 2am and walked towards her father's house in Terrigal after unsuccessfully trying to get an Uber. Friends followed her movements via Snapchat's SnapMaps feature, a live tracker of a user's whereabouts, which can be seen by selected contacts. She also sent them two videos while walking home. Instead of arriving home, Ms Griffin crossed paths with Torrens. Police quietly investigated the alleged link between the pair in the weeks following Ms Griffin's death. They found Torrens' DNA under Ms Griffin's fingernails and discovered a mobile ping in the Erina Creek area on the same night from Torrens' phone. Torrens was found unresponsive in his cell at Silverwater Jail in Sydney 's west about 4.50pm on Thursday and couldn't be revived by paramedics and corrective services officers. Daily Mail Australia also revealed today the government department tasked with keeping Torrens alive so he can face trial for Ms Griffin's alleged murder sent condolences to people 'affected by his death'. A Corrective Services NSW spokeswoman said the death in custody had been reported to the state coroner and would be subject to a public inquest. 'Corrective Services NSW and NSW Police investigate all deaths in custody regardless of the circumstances,' she said in a statement. 'Corrective Services NSW extends its deepest sympathies to the family of Audrey Griffin at this distressing time. But in a statement, the department also stated it 'sends condolences to any Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people affected by Mr Torrens' death. Daily Mail Australia understands that it is standard procedure for the department to send condolence messages whenever an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander person dies in custody, despite the crimes they may have committed. The statement came just hours after Ms Griffin's family was advised of his death as hundreds attended a beach vigil in her memory on Thursday night. Torrens was arrested in Sydney on Monday – a month after Ms Griffin's body was found in Erina Creek on the NSW Central Coast. Her death was not initially deemed suspicious because a preliminary autopsy indicated she had drowned. Last week, detectives published Torrens' image in a public appeal to locate him. Torrens admitted killing the 19-year-old to an associate not long after in a phone call obtained by police. 'Why did I do it? I don't know, I do not, I just f***ing clicked and I have no reason for my actions, I just did it man,' Torrens said in the call, according to the Daily Telegraph. 'I was so f***ed up, you know I was awake for four or five f***ing days, and I just did it.' In another call, Torrens said: 'I killed someone about a month ago and now they're looking for me'. Another witness told police they recognised Torrens in the CCTV, and that he had told them 'he left her body in the mangroves'. Following this week's arrest, detectives were set to allege Torrens assaulted Ms Griffin - with blows to the face - and knocked her unconscious in the shallow creek; or that he held her underwater to kill her. Many Australians were outraged by the police force's initial suggestion that Ms Griffin's death was 'not suspicious.' On Tuesday, a spokesperson for Brisbane Water Police District said investigators wanted to provide answers for the family and the community following the four week investigation. 'This has not sat well with us as investigators from the outset and that's why we stood up the strike-force,' the spokesperson said. 'There has been a number of lines of inquiry leading up to the arrest yesterday but, significantly, on Friday morning, we received information which transferred the case to a homicide investigation.' Ms Griffin's mother Kathleen Kirby told Daily Mail Australia this week that she 'just wanted justice' for her young daughter. She said her daughter was a fit, intelligent and beautiful young woman who 'had the world at her feet'. Ms Kirby said the pair exchanged messages while she was in Gosford, and she told daughter she was proud of her and loved her very much. News of Torrens' death came just hours after hundreds of mourners gathered to celebrate Ms Griffin's life at Terrigal Beach near her home. In the evening, loved ones, strangers, teammates and detectives flooded the beach dressed in white. Ms Kirby told the crowd sunset was Ms Griffin's favourite time of day. 'My heart is full. As full as it can be right now,' she told Nine News. 'We need change, we need a lot of change.' Her daughter's friend Anna Jenkins added: 'Anyone should be able to walk home at night and not be worried when they do that.' At twilight, the gathering paused in silence to remember the 19-year-old. Family and friends described Ms Griffin was a 'determined athlete, talented student and well-liked teenager'. A fortnight before her death, the popular and sporty teenager had travelled to New Zealand to compete in the gruelling ANZCO half-ironman event, which she completed in just over six-and-a-half hours. She was also preparing to begin a 10-week officer training course in April with the Royal Australian Navy after visiting Japan earlier this year. Ms Griffin was visiting the Central Coast - where she grew up - to see her grandparents and invite her friends to a farewell party in Sydney the next weekend. 'She was the kindest soul to walk this earth and will always be in our hearts,' a GoFundMe for her family said. Anti-violence against women campaigner Sherele Moody posted on social media 'there'll be no justice for Audrey Griffin' after Torrens' death. 'Like every single woman, 19-year-old Audrey had had every right to walk the street at anytime of day or night without some thug killing her,' Ms Moody posted. 'She had every right to live a long life full of peace and happiness.' 'She had every right to not be a victim of femicide. Male violence is an epidemic in Australia - we can't even have a night out without being killed.' A spokesman for NSW Corrections Minister Anoulack Chanthivong said thoughts were with those who knew Ms Griffin. 'The minister for corrections acknowledges this very difficult time for the family and loved ones of Audrey Griffin, noting this case will now not be able to be prosecuted through the courts,' he said. For confidential 24-hour support in Australia call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636.
Daily Mail
25-04-2025
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Outrage as government department sends out tone-deaf sympathy message for alleged killer who died in custody days after teen's murder
The government department tasked with keeping the accused killer of a 19-year-old woman alive so he can face trial for her alleged murder has sent condolences to people 'affected by his death'. The disgraceful message from Corrective Services NSW came after Adrian Noel Torrens, 53, died in custody three days after his arrest for allegedly murdering 19-year-old Audrey Griffin. Torrens was found unresponsive in his cell at Silverwater Jail in Sydney 's west about 4.50pm on Thursday and couldn't be revived by paramedics and corrective services officers. Police are not treating his death as suspicious. A Corrective Services NSW spokeswoman said the death in custody had been reported to the state coroner and would be subject to a public inquest. 'Corrective Services NSW and NSW Police investigate all deaths in custody regardless of the circumstances,' she said in a statement. 'Corrective Services NSW extends its deepest sympathies to the family of Audrey Griffin at this distressing time. But in a tone-deaf statement, the department also stated it 'sends condolences to any Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people affected by Mr Torrens' death.' The statement came just hours after Ms Griffin's family was advised of his death as hundreds attended a beach vigil in her memory on Thursday night. Torrens was arrested in Sydney on Monday – a month after Ms Griffin's body was found in Erina Creek on the NSW Central Coast. Her death was not initially deemed suspicious because a preliminary autopsy indicated she had drowned. Last week, detectives published Torrens' image in a public appeal to locate him. Torrens admitted killing the 19-year-old to an associate not long after in a phone call obtained by police. Another witness told police they recognised Torrens in the CCTV, and that he had told them 'he left her body in the mangroves'. Torrens was on a court order when he allegedly murdered Ms Griffin on Sydney's Central Coast in March. Ms Griffin had spend a night celebrating with friends at the Gosford Hotel on the night of March 22. She left the pub at 2am and walked towards her father's house in Terrigal after unsuccessfully trying to get an Uber. Friends followed her movements via Snapchat's SnapMaps feature, a live tracker of a user's whereabouts, which can be seen by selected contacts. She also sent them two videos while walking home. Instead of arriving home, Ms Griffin crossed paths with Torrens. Police quietly investigated the alleged link between the pair in the weeks following Ms Griffin's death. They found Torrens' DNA under Ms Griffin's fingernails and discovered a mobile ping in the Erina Creek area on the same night from Torrens' phone. Following this week's arrest, detectives were set to allege Torrens attacked Ms Griffin in the face and knocked her unconscious in the shallow creek – or that he held her underwater to kill her. Many Australians were outraged by police's initial ruling that Ms Griffin's death was 'not suspicious.' On Tuesday, a spokesperson for Brisbane Water Police District said investigators wanted to provide answers for the family and the community following the four week investigation. 'This has not sat well with us as investigators from the outset and that's why we stood up the strike-force,' the spokesperson said. 'There has been a number of lines of inquiry leading up to the arrest yesterday but, significantly, on Friday morning, we received information which transferred the case to a homicide investigation.' Ms Griffin's mother Kathleen Kirby told Daily Mail Australia this week that she 'just wanted justice' for her young daughter. She said her daughter was a fit, intelligent and beautiful young woman who 'had the world at her feet'. Ms Kirby said the pair exchanged messages while she was in Gosford, and she told daughter she was proud of her and loved her very much. News of Torrens' death came just hours after hundreds of mourners gathered to celebrate Ms Griffin's life at Terrigal Beach near her home. In the evening, loved ones, strangers, teammates and detectives flooded the beach dressed in white. Ms Kirby told the crowd sunset was Ms Griffin's favourite time of day. 'My heart is full. As full as it can be right now,' she told 9News. 'We need change, we need a lot of change.' Her daughter's friend Anna Jenkins added: 'Anyone should be able to walk home at night and not be worried when they do that.' At twilight, the gathering paused in silence to remember the 19-year-old. Family and friends described Ms Griffin was a 'determined athlete, talented student and well-liked teenager'. A fortnight before her death, the popular and sporty teenager had travelled to New Zealand to compete in the gruelling ANZCO half-ironman event, which she completed in just over six-and-a-half hours. She was also preparing to begin a 10-week officer training course in April with the Royal Australian Navy after visiting Japan earlier this year. Ms Griffin was visiting the Central Coast - where she grew up - to see her grandparents and invite her friends to a farewell party in Sydney the next weekend. 'She was the kindest soul to walk this earth and will always be in our hearts,' a GoFundMe for her family said. Anti-violence against women campaigner Sherele Moody posted on social media 'there'll be no justice for Audrey Griffin' after Torrens' death. 'Like every single woman, 19-year-old Audrey had had every right to walk the street at anytime of day or night without some thug killing her,' Ms Moody posted. 'She had every right to live a long life full of peace and happiness.' 'She had every right to not be a victim of femicide. Male violence is an epidemic in Australia - we can't even have a night out without being killed.' A spokesman for NSW Corrections Minister Anoulack Chanthivong said thoughts were with those who knew Ms Griffin. 'The minister for corrections acknowledges this very difficult time for the family and loved ones of Audrey Griffin, noting this case will now not be able to be prosecuted through the courts,' he said. For confidential 24-hour support in Australia call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636.
