Yes, Snapchat still has the “For My Eyes Only” feature as of October 2023. This feature allows Snapchat users to save snaps, videos, and photos to a private, password-protected area in the app that is not accessible to friends.
The “For My Eyes Only” feature was introduced by Snapchat in 2015 to provide an extra level of privacy and security for sensitive or private content. While Snapchat is known for the ephemeral nature of snaps that disappear after being viewed, the “For My Eyes Only” section allows users to save certain snaps indefinitely in a secure way.
Over the years, “For My Eyes Only” has remained a popular and useful feature for Snapchat users looking to keep certain content just for themselves. The feature fits into Snapchat’s focus on privacy and gives users more control over their snaps.
How Does “For My Eyes Only” Work?
The “For My Eyes Only” feature on Snapchat allows users to protect personal photos, videos, and chats within the app in the following ways:
– It is a private section of the app that is password-protected. Only the Snapchat user who enabled the feature can access it.
– Content saved to “For My Eyes Only” does not expire like standard Snapchat snaps. Items stored there remain accessible until the user deletes them.
– Snaps, videos, photos, and chats can be moved from the main Snapchat interface into the “For My Eyes Only” section for privacy.
– A PIN is required to access the private media in “For My Eyes Only.” Users set up this 4-digit passcode when they first enable the feature.
– The PIN prevents friends and others who may be using your device from accessing the private content.
– Media saved to “For My Eyes Only” does not appear in the main Snapchat interface or stories. Only the user has access in the special private section.
– To move snaps into “For My Eyes Only,” users tap and hold on a snap, tap the ❤️ icon, and confirm by selecting “My Eyes Only.”
– Users can also capture new photos, videos and chats directly into the private section from the camera screen.
Overall, the “For My Eyes Only” feature creates a private, password-protected space where Snapchat users can securely save their more sensitive content. The PIN code and lack of expiration gives users more control.
Why Do People Use “For My Eyes Only”?
There are a few key reasons why Snapchat users take advantage of the “For My Eyes Only” feature:
– To save risqué, intimate photos or videos securely. This provides more privacy if users still want to take or save provocative snaps.
– To archive intimate chats or love letters with a partner. The “For My Eyes Only” section serves as a private diary of these chat conversations.
– To store pictures or videos with sensitive financial information, IDs, passwords, or documents. The added security helps avoid accidentalsharing.
– To save goofy, embarrassing, or very personal photos or videos. Users can be more casual knowing these snaps are still private.
– To prevent friends from snooping. Friends can’t access your device and find the private content.
– To maintain privacy if allowing friends or others to use your Snapchat temporarily. They won’t find the private content.
– To prevent oversharing. Users can save certain content just for themselves rather than posting publicly on Snapchat stories.
– To keep certain content accessible after deleting from main Snapchat storage. The items remain viewable in “For My Eyes Only.”
Overall, Snapchat users value being able to save photos, videos, chats and more in a way that gives them more control over privacy. The “For My Eyes Only” feature caters to this need for both security and accessibility.
What Can You Save to “For My Eyes Only”?
Snapchat’s “For My Eyes Only” section allows users to save and protect the following types of content within the app:
– Photos – This includes any photos captured via the Snapchat camera or saved from your phone’s local camera roll. Personal, private, or intimate photos are commonly saved to “For My Eyes Only” for security.
– Videos – Like photos, any videos recorded on Snapchat directly or saved from your camera roll can go into “For My Eyes Only.” Users often keep risqué or private videos in the private section.
– Chats – Snapchat users can save their message conversations by putting them into “For My Eyes Only.” This is popular for private chats with a significant other or for financial account info shared over chat.
– Snapshots of content – Users can take snapshots within Snapchat of content like their own chat conversations, Snapchat stories, web articles, and more. These can be saved privately.
– Camera roll media – Snapchat photos, videos, and other media can be downloaded to camera rolls. From there, users can upload and save items to the private Snapchat area.
– Notes – The notes feature in Snapchat allows users to write notes to themselves. They can choose to keep these notes private in “For My Eyes Only” as a personal diary.
– Location data – Snapchat’s Snap Map lets users share their locations. This location data history can be saved privately as well.
– Memories – Older Snapchat photos users have backed up as “Memories” can also be protected in the private section.
Essentially, nearly any type of media or content within Snapchat can be moved to “For My Eyes Only” for extra security. This gives users comprehensive ability to manage privacy.
How Private is “For My Eyes Only”?
Snapchat has designed the “For My Eyes Only” feature to be a very private and secure way to save snaps, photos, videos, chats and other media within the app. Here are some of the key ways Snapchat keeps the content private:
– Password protection – A unique 4-digit PIN code is required to access “For My Eyes Only.” This password is not connected to the main Snapchat account password.
– No expiration – Media saved in “For My Eyes Only” has no expiration date. It will not delete itself like normal Snapchat stories. This allows long-term private access.
– End-to-end encryption – Files are encrypted before being stored in “For My Eyes Only.” This makes the files only accessible on the user’s device with the password.
– No cloud storage – “For My Eyes Only” content is only stored locally on the user’s device. There is no cloud backup that could be vulnerable to hacking.
– No ability to screenshot – The app blocks screenshots of media in the private section to prevent copying or sharing. The screenshot simply comes back blank.
– Offline access only – “For My Eyes Only” content can only be viewed when the user is offline. This prevents the content from being intercepted while connected to the internet.
– No notifications – Snapchat will not push any notifications that could reveal private content being saved to others.
– Separate from main account – The private section is segregated from the regular Snapchat section in the app. Only the user can switch between them with the PIN.
Overall, Snapchat has prioritized security measures like encryption, local device storage, and password protection to keep “For My Eyes Only” very private. No other Snapchat users can access the content.
How to Set Up “For My Eyes Only”
Setting up the “For My Eyes Only” feature on Snapchat only takes a few steps:
1. Open the Snapchat app and tap your profile icon in the top left corner.
2. Tap the ⚙️ button to access your Settings.
3. Scroll down and select the “My Eyes Only” option.
4. Tap “Continue” and then agree to the terms of use.
5. You will be prompted to set up a 4-digit PIN code. Enter a PIN and tap “Confirm” to save it.
6. Re-enter the same PIN when prompted to confirm.
7. Tap “OK” when your PIN is confirmed.
You will also be given the option here to turn on Face ID or Touch ID to unlock “For My Eyes Only.” This adds biometric authentication for even more security.
Once set up, you can access your private content at any time in Snapchat by entering your custom PIN in the “My Eyes Only” section. Be sure to keep your PIN private for security.
How to Use “For My Eyes Only”
Once the “For My Eyes Only” feature is enabled, using it to store private content is simple:
– To save existing Snapchat photos or videos, press and hold on the snap, tap the ❤️ icon, and confirm “My Eyes Only.”
– To take new photos or video for private saving, access the Snapchat camera and capture as normal. Then tap the ❤️ icon and “My Eyes Only.”
– To save chat conversations, tap and hold on the chat screen. Select “More” and choose “My Eyes Only.”
– To move Memories to the private area, tap and hold on the Memory, tap the ❤️ icon, and select “My Eyes Only.”
– To view your private content, tap your profile, then tap the “My Eyes Only” tab and enter your PIN.
– To delete private snaps, tap and hold on them in the “My Eyes Only” section and choose delete.
– Use your fingerprint or Face ID if you enabled biometric unlock for quick access.
Always remember to exit out of “For My Eyes Only” when done viewing your private snaps to keep them secure.
Pros and Cons of “For My Eyes Only”
Pros
– Added privacy and control over personal photos, videos, and chats.
– Secure storage with password protection and encryption.
– Peace of mind saving risqué or embarrassing content.
– Ability to maintain access to deleted/expired Snaps if saved privately.
– Features like limited screenshot capability and no notifications increase privacy.
– Offline only access limits vulnerabilities.
Cons
– No cloud backup means losing access if you lose your device.
– Requires remembering an additional PIN code.
– Needs occasional review and deletion of old private snaps to save space.
– Can’t share personal media in the private section publicly later on.
– No camera or editing tools within the private section.
– Easily forgotten about if you don’t use it regularly.
Overall, “For My Eyes Only” remains a very useful feature for most Snapchat users looking for more privacy, despite a few minor limitations. The extra security and control over sensitive content is valued highly by the Snapchat community.
Conclusion
In summary, Snapchat’s “For My Eyes Only” feature allows sealing off private, personal content in a password-protected space. It provides a solution for Snapchat users who want to save photos, videos, chats and other media more permanently without sharing publicly.
While Snapchat itself is built around ephemeral sharing, “For My Eyes Only” recognizes the desire for privacy and gives control back to users. Setting up the feature is simple and accessing private content in the future just requires entering your unique PIN code.
Snapchat has shown commitment to keeping “For My Eyes Only” very secure with measures like encryption, screenshot blocking, and offline-only access. These protections have kept the private content vault functional and popular with users even years after launch.
Looking ahead, Snapchat will likely continue supporting and improving the “For My Eyes Only” feature as user privacy remains paramount. The ability to save sensitive content confidentially within the app remains highly valued by the Snapchat community.