Snapchat is a popular social media app that allows users to share photos, videos, and messages that disappear after being viewed. One of Snapchat’s key features is that it does not publicly display a list of someone’s followers or who they are following. This guide will explain the limited options available to see who someone else is following or who their followers are on Snapchat.
Viewing Your Own Snapchat Followers
Snapchat does allow you to see a list of your own followers. To view your followers:
- Open the Snapchat app and tap on your profile icon in the top left corner
- Tap on the settings icon (gear shape) in the top right corner
- Scroll down and select “My Friends”
- You will see a list of your friends as well as a separate “Followers” section that shows users who follow you
This followers list shows the user names of your followers. You can tap on any follower to view their public Snapchat profile, but you won’t be able to see their follower or following lists.
Viewing Someone Else’s Followers
Unfortunately, there is no direct way to view another user’s complete list of Snapchat followers like you can on other social platforms. This is by design for user privacy on Snapchat.
However, there are some limited workarounds:
Check Their Public Profile
Any Snapchat user can make their profile “public” which allows anyone to view it, even without adding them as a friend. Public profiles display a tally of the total number of followers and friends the user has, but not a full list of names.
To find a user’s public profile:
- Search for their username in the Snapchat search bar
- Tap on their username when it appears in results
- You will see a Follow button if their profile is public
- The profile shows the tally of Followers and Friends
This gives you a general idea of how popular or active that user is on Snapchat based on their totals, but not the specifics.
View Mutual Friends
You can see a partial list of someone’s followers if you have mutual friends with that person. When you view someone’s friend list, friends that you also share will be indicated.
To try this:
- Search for their username and open their public Snapchat profile
- Scroll down and tap “Friend List” to view their friend list
- Any mutual friends will have a note indicating you are also friends
This allows you to see a portion of their followers who you may also know or follow. But it is limited to only the mutual connections between you both.
Ask to Become Friends
If you send a Snapchat friend request to someone and they accept it, you will then have access to view their friends and followers lists since they become your friend. However, the user has to voluntarily accept your friend request first before you can see these details.
To send a friend request:
- Search for their username and open their public Snapchat profile
- Tap the blue “Add Friend” button
- Wait to see if they accept your request
- Once accepted, you can view their friends and followers lists
The downside is the user may not accept your request if they don’t know you, keeping their lists private from you.
Using Third-Party Apps
Some third-party apps claim to offer the ability to view Snapchat followers and friends lists of other users. However, most of these have limitations:
- They often only work if the user also installs the app and connects their Snapchat account, allowing access to their data.
- These apps violate Snapchat’s terms of service and user data access rules.
- They may compromise user security and privacy if granting open access to Snapchat profile information and follower data.
- Snapchat aims to detect and ban these third-party apps that scrape user data without consent.
For these reasons, most legitimate third-party apps no longer offer the ability to scrape follower lists from Snapchat. Any app claiming to get full access should be avoided to keep your account safe.
Why Snapchat Limits Follower Views
It’s important to understand why Snapchat deliberately limits the ability to see other users’ followers and friends:
- Privacy – Snapchat was designed as an intimate communication app between friends, so users expect follower lists to be private.
- Security – Public follower lists help scammers, hackers and bullies target Snapchat users through exposed social connections.
- Reduced Comparison – Unlike other social networks, Snapchat minimizes public metrics like followers so users focus on content instead of popularity.
- Control – Users have to opt-in to share follower or friend lists. Snapchat gives users control over their privacy.
While it can be frustrating, Snapchat’s approach is designed to protect its community. The available workarounds give some helpful insight into follower data, but full lists remain private to individual users.
Summary
Snapchat intentionally keeps followers lists and friend lists private to users. There is no direct way to view a complete list of who someone follows or who follows them back on Snapchat.
You can only see limited information like follower totals on public profiles, mutual friends, and by adding Snapchat friends. Third-party apps that offer full lists often violate Snapchat’s policies, risk account security, and should typically be avoided.
The limited visibility of followers aligns with Snapchat’s focus on privacy. Despite the restrictions, the available options provide some helpful context on a user’s status and connections within the Snapchat community.