Snapchat turns off public ‘heatmap’ for Ukraine

The feature that shows how many snaps are taken in a particular location is being turned off for Ukraine. The company says that the move is a safety precaution and that there will still be a public feed of snaps submitted by Ukrainians.

The color code is used to show how many people are posting public images in an area. You can get a good idea of where the users are. In a wartime scenario where Russia may want to track citizens, more people are posting from downtown Seattle than the nearby national forest.

Other companies have taken similar actions to make Ukrainians' movements harder to track. Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Snap took a few additional actions. According to a news post from the company, it stopped showing ads in Russia, and won't sell ad spots to Russian entities.