Snapchat is introducing a ‘Place Loyalty’ feature on Snap Map, rewarding users for their frequent visits to certain locations with gold, silver and bronze badges. The top 1% of visitors earn a golden badge, while the top 10% get silver and the top 25% bronze. If you’re among the most frequent users, your ranking can be shared on social platforms or within your social circle.

Introduced in 2017, Snap Map was initially designed to help users see their friends’ locations and discover local hotspots. Over time, it has evolved into a way for brands to advertise their locations through Promoted Places. Now, the app is encouraging users to engage with the map by rewarding them for their loyalty.

While this feature provides an interesting insight into user behavior, some might question whether such detailed tracking is necessary or even desirable. Snapchat assures that users can choose not to share their location data, but the badges are only visible after sharing.

The new feature aligns with Snapchat’s strategy of continuously updating its core product to attract and retain users. In 2025, the company launched a ‘Footsteps’ feature to track how much of the world users have explored. For brands, Promoted Places offers visibility on Snap Map as a way to advertise their locations.

As with any tracking or reward system, this new feature raises questions about privacy and user consent in the age of social media. Snapchat’s decision comes at a time when other platforms like Instagram also offer mapping features, though without as much public data-sharing.