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How to hide friends on snapchat without blocking?

Snapchat allows you to hide friends from your friend list without outright blocking them. This can be useful if you want to take a break from seeing someone’s snaps and stories, but don’t want to unfriend or block them completely.

Why Hide Friends on Snapchat?

There are a few reasons you may want to hide friends on Snapchat:

  • Temporarily take a break from their snaps and stories without unfriending them
  • Prevent them from seeing your story during a certain time period
  • Reduce distractions if you find yourself spending too much time on their snaps
  • Quietly phase out a friendship without an outright confrontation
  • Hide your Snapchat activity from a specific friend for privacy reasons

Hiding friends gives you more control over your Snapchat feed and who can view your content. It’s more discreet than unfriending or blocking someone outright.

How to Hide Friends on Snapchat

Snapchat currently has two ways to hide friends – via the chat screen or friend list. Here’s how to use both methods:

Hide Friends via Chat Screen

  1. Open the Snapchat app and tap on the Chat screen icon at the bottom
  2. Swipe right on a friend’s name to open your list of conversations
  3. Press and hold on the friend you want to hide
  4. Tap “More” in the menu that pops up
  5. Select “Hide Conversation” to confirm

This will immediately hide that friend’s chat screen and stories from your Snapchat feed. To unhide them, just repeat the process and tap “Unhide Conversation.”

Hide Friends via Friend List

  1. Tap your profile icon in the top left corner
  2. Tap the settings gear icon to access your Snapchat settings
  3. Scroll down and select “My Friends”
  4. Tap the name of the friend you want to hide
  5. Toggle “Hide From Me” on

Toggling this option on will hide that friend’s stories and prevent them from viewing your stories. Toggle it off at any time to unhide them.

What Happens When You Hide Friends

When you hide friends on Snapchat, here’s exactly what changes:

  • Their stories, posts, and snaps no longer show up in your feed
  • They can no longer view your story or send you snaps
  • Your friendship remains intact – you still follow each other
  • Chat history remains unchanged
  • Either person can still reactivate the friendship at any time

Essentially, hiding a friend acts as a one-way unfollow. You stop seeing their content, and they stop seeing yours, but the relationship continues behind the scenes.

Things to Know About Hidden Friends

  • Friends will not be notified when you hide them.
  • You can still search for and view hidden friends’ public stories.
  • Hidden friends remain visible in your Friends list – their names just appear greyed out.
  • Friends hidden on one side of the relationship stay hidden when you switch to the other side.
  • Group stories still show content from hidden friends.

In summary, hiding friends simply mutes that friendship – it doesn’t fully remove it. Both sides can reactivate the open sharing at any point.

How to Unhide Friends You’ve Hidden

If you change your mind later on, unhiding hidden friends is easy:

  • Via Chat Screen: Press and hold on their name, tap More, then select Unhide Conversation.
  • Via Friend List: Go to My Friends, tap their name, and toggle Hide From Me off.

This will instantly reactivate sharing and viewing between both sides of the friendship.

Can Hidden Friends Tell You Hid Them?

Nope! There’s no built-in notification when you hide someone as a friend on Snapchat. The only way they’ll know is if they notice your stories suddenly disappearing from their feed.

Some signs that may tip them off:

  • Your name and Bitmoji vanish from their friend list
  • Your score no longer increases
  • Your stories don’t show up on their feed
  • They can no longer view your Map location

But there’s no message directly stating that you hid them. If confronted, you can always pretend you deactivated your account for a while.

Can You Hide Friends Without Them Noticing?

There are a couple tricks you can use to hide friends on Snapchat more discreetly:

  • Hide acquaintances you rarely snap rather than close friends.
  • Gradually snap the person less often before hiding them to make the transition more subtle.
  • Keep posting stories as usual so your score keeps increasing.
  • Hide friends for short periods only, like a couple weeks.
  • Claim you deleted Snapchat from your phone if asked about your disappearance.

While not foolproof, these tips can help mask the changes that happen when you hide someone. Just know that determined friends may eventually notice something is up.

Pros and Cons of Hiding Friends

Hiding friends has its advantages, but also some drawbacks to consider:

Pros

  • Lets you take a break from someone without confrontation
  • Stops their snaps from distracting or interrupting you
  • Gives more control over your Snapchat experience
  • Prevents exes or crushes from seeing your stories
  • Makes phasing certain people out easier

Cons

  • Can damage relationships if discovered
  • Doesn’t resolve underlying issues
  • You may still want to check their stories
  • Can be confusing if you forget who you hid
  • Friends may notice your disappearance eventually

Weigh these pros and cons carefully when deciding whether to hide friends. While handy, it shouldn’t be used to avoid communicating.

Other Ways to Limit Friends on Snapchat

In addition to hiding friends, Snapchat offers a few other ways to fine-tune your friend list and feed:

  • Unfriend: Completely removes a friendship so neither of you sees each other’s content.
  • Favorites: Lets you prioritize your closest friends to the top of your Stories feed.
  • Notifications: Choose which friends’ stories do and don’t trigger notifications.
  • Groups: Assign friends to custom Groups to control their story privileges.

Blending these options with occasionally hiding friends gives you granular control over your Snapchat social circles.

The Takeaway on Hiding Snapchat Friends

Hiding friends on Snapchat allows you to temporarily mute friendships without ending them permanently. It can be a discreet way to take a break from someone’s snaps or restrict access to your stories.

Keep in mind that repeatedly hiding friends you follow closely may backfire over time. Use this feature occasionally and intentionally, not as a means of avoiding communication. Snapchat offers great ways to customize your feed and friend list, but healthy relationships require a little work too!