Here’s the crux of the article in video form:

New updates are being added at the bottom of this story…….

Original story (published on April 24, 2023) follows:

In an attempt to compete in the growing AI market, Snapchat has launched its own version of an AI Chatbot (powered by Open AI’s ChatGPT) built right into the original application.

While a major section of the community is liking the new feature, some are facing trouble when trying to unpin My AI from chat without paying for a Snapchat+ subscription.

Unfortunately, there’s a new controversy that makes things even worse for My AI.

Snapchat My AI lying about not knowing your location

If you ask the AI chatbot whether it knows your location or not, the answer is usually a resounding no. The bot makes it clear that it does not have access to your location. However, it seems that the AI is lying.

Some users are catching (1,2,3,4,5) this lie by simply asking My AI to suggest restaurants nearest to them. Surprisingly, the bot becomes the perfect city guide when asked such questions.

Snapchat-My-AI-lying-about-location2
Source (click/tap to expand)

Snapchat AI “Doesn’t access your location.” Nailed Mine within 20 feet, App permission for location was denied.
Source

It will give you the address to the nearest Chipotle “without having access to your location”. This is incredibly alarming and borderline creepy for some Snapchat users concerned about their privacy.

My AI can also tell your GPS location and allegedly also has access to your IP address.

Are users overreacting?

On the other side, some are criticizing (1,2,3) concerned Snapchat users for overreacting and making a big deal out of an arguably harmless situation.

Snapchat-My-AI-lying-about-location
Source

According to them, it’s obvious that the AI will have access to their location if Snap Map is turned on. Also, it’s fairly common for social media apps to always track your general location.

However, this happens even for those who’ve turned off Snap Map and denied location permissions.

The problem here is completely different. It’s not about whether the bot knows your location or not. It obviously does. What’s concerning is that it repeatedly lies about not knowing your location.

I think you’ll find its not people being worried about the AI necessarily knowing their location its the AI lying about knowing your whereabouts that seems to be catching everyone off guard.
Source

The transparency is completely missing here. Snapchat users are upset to find the AI trying to manipulate them into believing something false.

Fortunately, a user suggests that Snapchat might be working on making things better. When they asked My AI about the nearest store, the bot was unable to provide an accurate answer.

We hope Snapchat looks into the problem where My AI keeps lying about not knowing users’ location. We’ll keep an eye on this matter and update this story to reflect noteworthy developments.

Update 1 (May 25, 2023)

04:54 pm (IST): Snapchat has explained on their official blog how My AI uses Snapchatters’ location information. You can check it out here.

PiunikaWeb started as purely an investigative tech journalism website with main focus on ‘breaking’ or ‘exclusive’ news. In no time, our stories got picked up by the likes of Forbes, Foxnews, Gizmodo, TechCrunch, Engadget, The Verge, Macrumors, and many others. Want to know more about us? Head here.

Jaspreet Singh
119 Posts

I have always been passionate about smartphones, cameras, computers and basically everything technology related. Writing content for PW allows me to express that nerd inside me and talk about things i love.

Next article View Article

[Updated] Instagram crashing on all Android phones, but there are workarounds

Here's the crux of the article in video form: New updates are being added at the bottom of this story……. Original story from (June 5, 2018) follows: We're...
Jul 10, 2023 6 Min Read