Snapchat Friend Check Up asks you to ‘delete’ friends you don't like anymore

Snapchat has seen many rivals come and go, including industry heavyweights like Facebook-owned Instagram and its Stories feature. However, despite the competiton, the app remains popular among youngsters as well as several adult groups, because it remains a privacy-friendly service, in general.

Snapchat is always adding in new features to their app, and the latest feature - Friend Check Up, is yet another privacy-preserving feature. The new feature, will keep an eye on your friend list on Snapchat and remind you to look at who you have friend-ed on the service. While it sounds like just a simple reminder, it’s important to understand why it is important to keep your Snap friend list pruned.

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Over time, you may have grown distant with someone or simply don’t want them to be able to look at your chats. If you’ve used Snapchat for a long time, your friend list could be huge and keeping track of friends may be tough. The Friend Check Up feature could definitely come in handy when you want to do a little spring cleaning on your friend list.

Snap friends don’t just have access to your posts on the service - they might also be able to see where you are, or even who you’re with if you have common Snap friends. This might sometimes be sensitive information you may not wish to share with your family or other friends who you don’t talk to anymore. The fact that Snapchat is asking you to potentially reduce your friend list speaks volumes when others are pushing their algorithms to connect you with more users.

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The feature will roll out to Android users in the coming weeks and iOS in the coming months, Snapchat said. Considering how Snapchat can be a very personal space - the entire service is centered around your camera, it is good to see the company moving to keep your friend list as short as possible in order to protect you from unwanted attention.