Skype launched a new location sharing feature for Windows Phone 8 and 8.1 today, a curious move considering Skype's history of leaking the location of its users via widely-reported security flaws.
This time Skype's location sharing feature is voluntary. Skype 2.22 for Windows Phone now enables you to send "a Bing map of your location, pinpointing exactly where you are," the company shared in a blog post.
The update bolsters Skype's mobile chat experience on Windows Phone and mirrors existing features of competing messaging services like WhatsApp. Here's a closer look at the new feature:
Researchers first raised concerns over Skype's location-exposing security flaw back in 2011. The flaw exposed users' IP addresses, revealing the approximate location of targeted Skype users.
VentureBeat has reached out to Skype to find out if its location-sharing feature will launch on other platforms, too.