Snapchat is a popular social media app that allows users to send photo and video messages that disappear after being viewed. One of Snapchat’s key features is the ability to mute friends’ stories without unfriending or blocking them. This can be useful if you want to take a break from seeing someone’s content without fully disconnecting from them on the app.
A common question Snapchat users have is: if you mute someone, can they still message you? The short answer is yes. Muting someone on Snapchat only prevents their stories from appearing in your feed. It does not block direct messages or prevent that person from viewing your stories.
What happens when you mute someone on Snapchat?
When you mute a friend on Snapchat, it means you will no longer see their stories or posts in your feed. Their bitmoji will also disappear from the friends tab at the top of the chat screen. Essentially, muting hides that person’s public content from your view.
However, muting does NOT affect your private conversations. If the muted person sends you a chat or snap directly, you will still receive it as normal. You can open and view messages just like before. The only change is their stories disappearing from your feed.
Muting also does not prevent you from posting stories or snaps. Even if you mute someone, they can still view any public content you share to your story or send directly to them. The muting only operates in one direction, to hide their posts from your feed.
Can a muted friend still message you?
Yes, someone you mute on Snapchat can still message you directly. Muting has no impact on your inbound or outbound private conversations. If one of your friends sends you a snap or chat, you will get it as usual even if you have them muted.
You will also still receive notifications from muted friends when they message you. The notifications will appear just like normal in your inbox. Tapping on them will open the message so you can view it and respond if desired.
In summary, muting only stops that person’s public stories from reaching you. All private communication still works both ways. So you can continue to message muted friends while their stories are hidden from your feed.
Can a muted friend see your stories?
Muting someone is not the same as blocking them. When you block a friend on Snapchat, they can no longer view any of your stories or send you messages. But with muting, the limitations only apply to what you see from them.
This means a muted friend can still view your stories and any other public content you share. Muting is one-sided and does not stop them accessing your profile or posts. Your stories will appear in their feed as normal.
If you also want to stop a friend seeing your content, you will need to unfriend or block them. Muting alone will not prevent them viewing your public snaps or stories.
How do you mute friends on Snapchat?
Muting someone on Snapchat only takes a few taps:
- Open your Friends list in the app
- Tap and hold on the friend’s name
- Select “More” from the menu
- Tap “Mute” to confirm
This will instantly mute their stories. To unmute them later, just repeat the steps above and tap “Unmute” instead.
Other ways to limit a friend’s access
If you want to restrict what a friend can see beyond just their stories, here are some other options on Snapchat:
- Unfriend – Removes them from your Friends list so you cannot message each other
- Block – Prevents them viewing your Stories or contacting you entirely
- Restrict – Limits their access to private content like your Stories or location
- Delete chat – Erases your chat history together
Muting is the simplest option to quickly hide someone’s public posts. But you can take stronger measures like blocking or restricting if you want to limit their access further.
Conclusion
Muting on Snapchat stops you seeing someone’s stories and posts, but it does not affect your private conversations. A muted friend can still send you snaps and chats which you will receive normally. They also retain full access to view your Stories.
So muting is essentially a one-way block of their public content only. All messaging ability remains intact. If you want to restrict access further, you will need to unfriend, block, restrict or delete chats instead.
| Action | Stops you seeing their stories | Stops them messaging you | Stops them seeing your stories |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mute | Yes | No | No |
| Unfriend | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Block | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Restrict | No | No | Yes |
| Delete Chat | No | No | No |
In summary, muting is a simple way to remove someone’s stories from your feed while maintaining your messaging ability. To fully restrict access, stronger options like blocking or unfriending are required.