Yes, Snapchat does provide options to hide friends from your friend list or story views. You can choose to hide friends temporarily or permanently on Snapchat depending on your preferences.
Why would you want to hide friends on Snapchat?
There are a few common reasons why Snapchat users may want to hide certain friends:
- Privacy – You may wish to hide certain friends from seeing your story or seeing when you are online/active on Snapchat.
- Declutter – Your friend list can get crowded, so hiding some friends can declutter your feed.
- Avoid awkwardness – If you no longer talk to certain friends much, you may wish to hide them to avoid awkward interactions.
- Hide your activities – You may wish to hide some friends from seeing certain aspects of your Snapchat activity and stories.
Ultimately, hiding friends allows you to curate your Snapchat experience and choose exactly who you interact with or share content with on the platform.
How to temporarily hide friends on Snapchat
Snapchat provides a simple way to hide friends temporarily from your friend list and stories:
- Open your Snapchat app and tap on your profile icon in the top left corner.
- From your profile screen, tap on the gear icon to access your settings.
- Go to the “My Friends” section in your settings.
- Tap on the name of the friend you want to hide.
- Toggle the switch next to “Hide From Quick Add” to hide that friend.
Hiding a friend this way will remove them from your Stories and Quick Add sections temporarily. They will not see your stories or know that you have hidden them.
To unhide the friend, just go back to your Friends settings and toggle “Hide From Quick Add” off.
How to permanently delete or block friends
If you wish to permanently remove a friend from Snapchat, you have two options:
Delete a friend
- Go to your Snapchat profile and tap the settings gear icon.
- Go to the “My Friends” section.
- Tap on the name of the friend you want to delete.
- Tap on the “Delete Friend” option and confirm.
This will permanently delete the friend from your friend list. They will no longer see your stories or have you on their friend list either.
Block a friend
- Go to your profile and tap the settings gear icon.
- Go to the “My Account” section in your settings.
- Tap on “Blocked Accounts”.
- Tap on the “+” icon and search for the friend you want to block.
- Tap on their name to block them.
Blocking a friend prevents them from viewing your Snapchat stories or contacting you on Snapchat entirely. You will also no longer see their stories or receive their snaps.
What’s the difference between hiding, deleting and blocking?
Here’s a quick comparison of what each option does:
- Hiding – Temporarily removes a friend from your Stories and Quick Add. You remain friends.
- Deleting – Permanently removes a friend from your friend list. They are notified.
- Blocking – Prevents a friend from viewing your Stories or Snaps entirely. You also won’t see theirs.
So in summary:
- Hiding is temporary and reversible.
- Deleting is permanent but more amicable.
- Blocking is more final and prevents all contact.
Does hiding/deleting friends notify them?
If you hide friends, they are not notified in any way since you remain friends.
However, if you delete or block a friend, Snapchat will send them a notification alerting them that they have been deleted or blocked. So be aware that these options make it obvious you have removed them.
Can you hide your entire friend list?
Unfortunately, there is no way to hide your entire Snapchat friend list all at once. Your options are:
- Temporarily hiding individual friends one by one.
- Permanently deleting friends one by one.
- Blocking all friends one by one (very time consuming).
Snapchat does not allow bulk deletion or hiding of friends. You have to go in and manage each friend individually.
How to hide friend list from story viewers
If you post Snapchat stories, you can choose to hide your friend list from being viewed by others:
- Go to your profile and tap the settings gear icon.
- Tap on “See Me”.
- Toggle “Show Friend List” off.
This will prevent people who view your stories from also seeing your friend list and who you are friends with.
How to appear offline on Snapchat
Snapchat displays when you were last active on the app to your friends by default. If you want to appear offline:
- Go to your profile and tap the settings gear.
- Tap on “See Me”.
- Toggle “Show Time Status” off.
This will make it appear like you are offline and hide your last active status from friends.
Hide Snapchat notifications from certain friends
You can choose to mute notifications from specific friends so their snaps or chats don’t notify you:
- Open a chat with the friend you wish to mute.
- Tap and hold on their name at the top of the chat screen.
- Tap “More” and then tap “Mute Notifications”.
You can toggle it back on anytime to unmute their notifications. This won’t remove them as a friend.
Hide Snapchat app icon and notifications
Some additional ways to boost your Snapchat privacy include:
- Turning off notifications for the Snapchat app in your phone settings.
- Hiding the Snapchat app icon on your home screen by putting it in an app folder.
- Using a pop-up style app like Pop It to launch Snapchat discreetly.
Combining these with the built-in Snapchat privacy tools gives you robust control over hiding your Snapchat activity.
Third-party apps to hide friends
Some third-party apps claim to offer the ability to mass hide or delete Snapchat friends. However, be very wary of third-party services as they often violate Snapchat’s terms of service and can compromise your account security.
Manual hiding or deleting one friend at a time remains the safest approach endorsed by Snapchat.
Closing Thoughts
Snapchat provides customizable options to hide friends from your stories, feeds, and notifications. Just be aware that permanently deleting or blocking friends will notify them you have done so.
Hiding friends on Snapchat is easy to do on an individual basis. Just tap into your profile settings and Friend settings to manage things to your liking.
So if you’re looking for a bit more privacy on Snapchat, hiding friends selectively is an effective approach without having to delete your account.