Snapchat Privacy Settings: A 10-Minute Checklist
By the View Snapchat Stories team · · 2 min read
Most Snapchat privacy settings live in one place: tap your profile picture (top left), then the gear icon (top right), then scroll to Privacy Controls. Work down this list; it takes about ten minutes.
The checklist
| Setting | What it controls | Safest choice |
|---|---|---|
| Contact Me | Who can send you Snaps, chats and calls | My Friends |
| View My Story | Who sees your normal (non-public) Story | My Friends, or a custom list |
| See My Location | Who sees you on the Snap Map | Ghost Mode |
| See Me in Quick Add | Whether strangers get you as a friend suggestion | Off |
| Public Profile | A public page anyone can see, on the app and the web | Only if you want an audience |
| Two-Factor Authentication | A code is needed to log in on a new phone | On |
| Connected Apps | Other apps that can use your Snapchat login | Remove ones you don’t use |
Ghost Mode (hide your location)
Open the Snap Map (the pin icon at the bottom), tap the gear at the top, and switch on Ghost Mode. You can set it for 3 hours, 24 hours or until you turn it off. While it’s on, friends see your last location fade away instead of where you are now.
Video by Review Information. It plays from YouTube (privacy-enhanced mode) when you press play.
Public Story vs friends Story
If you have a Public Profile, each time you post you choose between your public Story and your friends Story. Public Stories can be watched by anyone, including on sites like ours. Friends Stories can’t. When in doubt, post to friends.
Things privacy settings can’t stop
- A friend taking a screenshot or filming your Snap with another phone. Snapchat shows a screenshot alert, but can’t prevent the second phone.
- Anything you post publicly being seen by people who aren’t logged in.
- Old Snaps a friend saved in chat. Ask them to delete it, or unsave it yourself in the chat.
For parents
Snapchat’s Family Center (Settings → Family Center) lets a parent see their teen’s friend list and who they’ve been chatting with recently, without seeing the messages themselves. Both accounts have to agree to it.
