Snapchat streaks have become a popular way for friends to keep in touch on the app. A streak occurs when two friends snap each other back and forth within 24 hours for three consecutive days. This number then appears next to the friend’s name with a little flame emoji to indicate you have a streak going.
Many Snapchat users wonder if simply sending a chat will count towards keeping a streak alive or if snaps are required. In this article, we’ll break down exactly how Snapchat streaks work and what counts towards maintaining them.
What Counts Towards A Snapchat Streak?
Snapchat streaks are all about consistency. As long as you and your friend exchange either chats or snaps within 24 hours for three straight days, you’ll start a streak. After that, you’ll want to make sure to keep snapping or chatting every 24 hours to keep the streak alive.
Here are the specifics on what counts:
- Sending a snap (photo/video) to your friend
- Sending a chat message to your friend
- Your friend sends you a snap or chat back within 24 hours
So both snaps and chats will count! You don’t necessarily have to send a snap every day as long as you’re consistently chatting back and forth.
The key things that will break a streak include:
- Going 24 hours without sending a snap or chat
- One friend doesn’t send anything back within 24 hours
- You block a friend, even temporarily
If your streak breaks, your counter will disappear and you’ll have to start the 3-day process over again.
Does Sending A Chat Add To Your Snapchat Streak?
Yes, sending a chat 100% counts towards keeping your Snapchat streak going. You do not need to send a snap every single day. As long as you send a chat within 24 hours, your streak will remain intact.
Many people find chats more convenient than snaps, especially if they don’t have anything particularly interesting to snap that day. A simple “Hey! How’s your day going?” chat will suffice to keep the streak alive.
Some other chat ideas that will count:
- Reacting to a story your friend posted
- Making plans to hang out
- Asking your friend a question
- Sending an emoji or bitmoji
- Following up on a previous conversation
So feel free to chat away! Those messages will help you hold onto those super long Snapstreaks.
Do Group Chats Count Towards Streaks?
Unfortunately, group chats do not count towards individual Snapchat streaks. Streaks only increase through one-on-one communication.
Group chats are a great way to talk to multiple friends at once. However, these messages won’t trigger those streak counters to go up for any of the group chat members.
If you want to maintain streaks, be sure to have individual chats with each friend every 24 hours in addition to any group chats you send.
Tips For Maintaining Streaks
Here are some helpful tips for keeping your Snapstreaks alive and achieving 100+ day streaks:
- Send your daily snaps at the same time every day, like when you wake up or go to bed. This makes it a habit so you don’t forget.
- Notify your streak friends if you’re going to be offline for awhile and won’t be able to snap. Some friends will be understanding of the occasional lapse.
- If you’re going on vacation or somewhere with limited service, let your friends know ahead of time you may not be snapping as frequently.
- Consider keeping streaks with your closest friends who you snap regularly anyway. Don’t worry about streaks with every single person.
- Use the Snapchat streaks feature to remind you of friends you haven’t snapped that day.
- Save quick videos and photos in your camera roll you can easily send as daily snaps.
What Happens When You Lose A Streak?
Losing a long Snapchat streak can be disappointing. But don’t panic – you can start rebuilding it right away!
Here’s what happens when your streak breaks:
- The flame emoji disappears next to that friend’s name.
- Your streak count goes back to 0 days.
- You’ll have to begin a new streak by snapping that friend for 3 consecutive days again.
Most of the time if you lose a streak, it’s because life got busy and the daily snap slipped your mind. Reach back out to that friend with an apology and explanation. See if they’re willing to start a new streak.
If you notice your friend has lost your streak, you can also take the initiative and start a new one. Simply resume snapping them daily. After 3 days, the flame will reappear.
While losing a long streak isn’t fun, it’s a great reason to reconnect with old friends and rebuild. The important thing is keeping those friendships, not the streak number.
Why Do People Value Snapchat Streaks?
For a generation that’s grown up with social media, Snapchat streaks have become a way to maintain friendship, even if you don’t see the person daily. Streaks show you care enough to keep the line of communication open.
Here are some of the key reasons Snapchat streaks matter:
- Keeps friendships active. Streaks motivate you to interact even if you can’t hang out IRL.
- Shows you’re thinking about them by taking time to send a snap.
- Friendly competition to see how high you can get your streak count.
- Exciting to maintain streaks with long distance friends.
- Fun way to send silly or memorable snaps back and forth.
For many users, keeping Snapstreaks alive with their besties is just as important as getting together. It strengthens bonds and keeps you feeling connected even from afar.
What Happens When You Delete Someone From Snapchat?
Deleting someone from Snapchat instantly deletes your Snapchat streak with them. Their name will disappear from your friends list, and your shared snapstreak counter will go away.
Here’s a more detailed look at what happens when you delete a friend on Snapchat:
- Any snaps they’ve sent you that you haven’t opened will be deleted.
- They will be removed from your friends list and can no longer view your stories.
- You will both lose your snapstreak and it will revert to 0 days.
- If you re-add them later, you’ll have to build a new streak from scratch.
- They’ll receive a notification that you deleted them.
Deleting someone is usually reserved for ex-friends or those you want to cut contact with. If you change your mind later, you can re-add them, but all former streak info will be lost.
So if you just wanted to take a break from someone’s snaps temporarily, it may be better to mute them vs. deleting entirely.
Conclusion
Sending chats 100% counts towards maintaining Snapchat streaks. While snaps are fun, chat messages are often an easier way to keep streaks going strong.
To have the best shot at achieving 100-day streaks and beyond, be consistent about snapping or chatting with your friends every 24 hours. Don’t worry too much if you lose a streak – they’re fun but the friendship is what matters most!