Snapchat is a popular social media app that allows users to send photo and video messages called “snaps” to friends. A unique feature of Snapchat is that snaps disappear after being viewed by the recipient. If a snap is left unopened, it will expire and be deleted after a set amount of time.
How do Snapchat reminders for unopened snaps work?
Snapchat has a feature that reminds recipients if they have unopened snaps from friends. This gives users a chance to view snaps that they may have forgotten about or missed notifications for before they expire.
There are a couple ways Snapchat will remind you about unopened snaps:
- Notification badges – If you have unopened snaps, Snapchat will display a notification badge icon on the app icon and next to the Snapchat chat icon within the app. The badge shows the number of unopened snaps.
- Alerts – Snapchat will occasionally send push notifications to your device alerting you that you have unopened snaps. For example, it may say “You have 3 unopened snaps!”
These reminders can occur multiple times if you continue to leave snaps unopened. The frequency of the reminders may also depend on your notification settings within the app.
Do the reminders only go away after you open the snaps?
Yes, the notification badges and alerts from Snapchat specifically for unopened snaps will only disappear after you have opened all of the snaps.
For example, if you have 3 unopened snaps, the “3” badge will remain on the app icon until you open all 3 snaps. Once you view the final unopened snap, the badge will clear from the icon.
The reminders and badges are directly tied to the status of those specific snaps. Snapchat detects when a snap has been left unopened past a certain time frame, triggering the reminders to the recipient. So opening the snaps is the only action that will make the alerts and badges go away.
Do the reminders go away if the unopened snaps expire?
Yes, if you leave snaps unopened long enough that they expire and are deleted, the reminders and notification badges related to those snaps will go away.
Once a snap reaches its expiration time limit, it is automatically deleted from Snapchat’s servers. At this point, Snapchat removes those snaps from the unopened count, since they no longer exist to be opened.
So if you have a reminder saying “3 unopened snaps” but ignore them until they expire, the app will detect that change and the reminders will disappear. You won’t continue getting reminders for snaps that no longer exist.
How long do unopened snaps last before expiring?
The exact expiration time depends on the settings chosen by the sender. When sending a snap, the sender can choose a expiration time between 1 and 10 seconds, up to 1 hour.
Some common snap expiration times include:
- 10 seconds
- 5 seconds
- 30 seconds
- 1 minute
- 5 minutes
- 10 minutes
If the recipient does not open the snap before the chosen time limit passes, the snap will expire and be deleted.
So if someone sends you a snap with a 10 second expiration, and you don’t open it within 10 seconds, it will disappear from Snapchat’s servers and no longer be viewable.
Can you turn off Snapchat reminders about unopened snaps?
Unfortunately, there is no direct setting within Snapchat to disable reminders for unopened snaps. Since this feature is built-in and automatic, there is no way to opt-out.
However, on iOS devices, you can mute Snapchat notifications which would prevent the push alert reminders about unopened snaps from appearing. To do this:
- Go to Settings > Notifications > Snapchat
- Toggle off “Allow Notifications”
On Android, you can turn off Snapchat notifications entirely by going to Settings > Apps & notifications > Snapchat > Notifications.
But keep in mind the notification badges showing unopened snap counts will still appear in the Snapchat app itself. There is no way to disable those within Snapchat.
What happens if you have unopened snaps from multiple friends?
If you have unopened snaps from multiple friends, Snapchat will consolidate them all into a single notification badge and reminder.
For example, if Friend A sends you 3 snaps and Friend B sends 2 snaps, your Snapchat badge would just display “5” and the alert may say “You have 5 unopened snaps!” It does not separate or specify the sender.
The badges and alerts are based solely on the total number of unopened snaps you have accumulated from all friends. The reminders will disappear only after you have opened every single snap.
Does leaving snaps unopened affect you or your friend at all?
Leaving snaps unopened does not have any direct effect or consequence on you or your friends. However, it may lead to some indirect social impacts in certain situations:
- Your friend may feel ignored if you regularly leave their snaps unopened.
- Conversations that depend on back-and-forth snaps may be stalled or halted.
- Friends may stop sending you as many snaps if they think you’re not seeing them.
- You may miss out on important messages or moments friends wanted to share with you.
But functionality-wise, leaving snaps unopened does not limit your Snapchat access or have penalties. Friends will not be notified if you screengrab their snap without opening it first.
Does screenshotting an unopened snap notify the sender?
No, you can screenshot or screen-record an unopened snap without the sender being notified. Snapchat’s screenshot notification only gets triggered if you open the snap first before capturing it.
This allows you to sneakily save snaps as proof without the sender knowing. However, this should only be done in appropriate circumstances, as it violates most friends’ trust.
Can you recover and view expired unopened snaps?
Unfortunately, there is no way to recover expired unopened snaps on Snapchat. Once the time limit set by the sender is reached, the snap is permanently deleted and cannot be retrieved.
Even if you had notification reminders for unopened snaps, those specific snaps are gone from Snapchat’s servers after expiring. The reminders are simply based on the meta data that a snap had been sent to you.
So allowing a snap to expire unopened means losing access to that content forever. The only way to safely view the snap is to open it within the sender’s chosen time limit.
Conclusion
In summary, Snapchat actively reminds recipients of unopened snaps using notification badges and alerts. These reminders persist until the snaps are either opened by the recipient or the snaps reach their expiration time limit set by the sender.
Leaving snaps unopened does not directly affect you or friends functionally, but may lead to social implications in certain situations. Expired unopened snaps are permanently deleted and cannot be recovered.
Turning off notifications provides limited control over reminders. But ultimately the only way to clear unopened snap badges and alerts is to open the snaps within their expiration windows.
Unopened Snaps Reminder Frequency Table
| Snap Expiration Time | Reminder Frequency |
|---|---|
| 10 seconds | Every minute for 10 minutes |
| 30 seconds | Every 2 minutes for 30 minutes |
| 1 minute | Every 5 minutes for 1 hour |
| 5 minutes | Every 15 minutes for 1 hour |
| 10 minutes or more | Every hour for 24 hours |
This table provides estimates on how often Snapchat will send reminders for unopened snaps depending on the expiration time set by the sender. The actual frequency may vary.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Snapchat notify you when someone screenshots your snap without opening it?
No, Snapchat does not send a notification if someone screenshots an unopened snap. The screenshot notification only happens after the snap has been opened.
Can you remove the notification badge for unopened snaps manually?
There is no setting to manually remove the unopened snap badge within Snapchat. The only way to clear it is by opening all snaps.
Do Snapchat alerts tell you who the unopened snaps are from?
No, Snapchat alerts and badges only show the total number of unopened snaps. They do not specify which friends they are from.
What happens if you clear Snapchat from the app switcher with unopened snaps?
Closing Snapchat from the app switcher temporarily removes the notification badges. But they will reappear once you reopen Snapchat. The reminders will persist until all snaps are opened.
Can you stop Snapchat from deleting expired unopened snaps?
There is no setting to prevent unopened snaps from being deleted after expiration. This is mandatory behavior that cannot be disabled.
The Case for Opening Snaps Promptly
While Snapchat allows snaps to remain unopened for a period of time before expiring, it is generally courteous to open snaps from friends in a timely manner whenever possible for several reasons:
- It shows respect and appreciation for the time your friends took to send you a snap.
- Quickly opening and responding to snaps enables back-and-forth conversation.
- Friends may start sending fewer snaps if they feel you are always ignoring them.
- Some snaps may contain time-sensitive content that will lose meaning or context if viewed much later.
- You may forget context around snaps if too much time passes before opening them.
- Unopened snaps can clutter up your Snapchat inbox and notification badges.
Of course, life gets busy, and you may not always be able to view every snap instantly. But in general, opening snaps relatively soon after receiving them leads to the best Snapchat experience and keeps your friends satisfied!