Snapchat’s timer feature has become a source of confusion and curiosity for many users. When you see an hourglass or stopwatch icon next to one of your friends’ names, you may wonder what it means and why it’s there. The timer indicates how long your friend will remain your friend before the friendship expires. In this article, we’ll explain what Snapchat’s friend timer means, why Snapchat uses this feature, and how you can reset the timer to keep friends added.
What Does the Snapchat Timer Mean?
The timer or stopwatch icon next to a friend’s name on your Snapchat friend list means your friendship with that person will expire within 24 hours. The expiration time can be anywhere from 1 hour up to 23 hours and 59 minutes. Once the timer runs out, that friend will be removed from your friend list automatically.
Snapchat introduced the Snapchat friend timer to set time limits on friendships and encourage users to communicate. Without the timer, some friendships may go stale as old connections are forgotten. The timer requires you to keep in touch and regularly interact with each friend to keep them added.
Why Does Snapchat Use a Friend Timer?
Snapchat implemented the friend timer for a few important reasons:
Encourage Interaction
The main reason Snapchat uses the friend timer is to encourage friends to interact within the app. Snapchat wants people to actively use the app and send Snaps to each other. The timer motivates you to reach out to friends you haven’t contacted in a while to keep them from disappearing.
Maintain Relevance
The timer also helps keep your friend list relevant. Without it, old friends or contacts may stay on your list forever even if you never speak. The timer removes stale friends so your list reflects the people you actually interact with currently.
Drive Engagement
By encouraging friends to communicate before time runs out, Snapchat boosts daily engagement and usage. The timer essentially nudges users to open and use Snapchat more to preserve friendships. This increases the app’s overall daily active user numbers and engagement metrics.
Refresh Connections
Snapchat described the timer as a way to “keep the friendship alive.” It forces you and your friends to regularly refresh your connection. Without the prompt to keep talking, some friendships may naturally fade away.
How Do I Keep Friends from Disappearing?
If you have friends with timers that you want to keep from expiring, there are a couple easy ways to maintain the friendship:
Send a Snap
Sending a Snapchat to a friend is the easiest way to reset the timer. When you send a Snap, the timer will be extended up to 24 hours again. You can send a picture, video, chat, or story reply. As long as you’re actively communicating, your friend won’t expire.
Interact in Chat
Chatting in the app also counts as a friendship interaction. If you have a conversation with a friend in chat before the time runs out, you can extend the timer.
Reminisce on Memories
Viewing and engaging with Memories content together is another way to reset the timer. Look back on old Snaps and Stories with a friend.
Watch Each Other’s Stories
If you and a friend both watch one another’s My Stories, your timers will be extended. So be sure to keep up with friends’ stories.
Play Games Together
Gaming is a popular Snapchat activity. Play games like Bitmoji Party within Snapchat with a friend to keep your friendship alive.
Interact in Group Chats
Group chats count too! If you and the friend are both actively participating in a Group Chat, your timers will reset.
What Happens When a Friendship Expires?
Once the timer runs out, your friend will be removed from your friends list automatically. They’ll see you disappear from their friend list as well.
If you try to search for them, their username may not show up. Essentially, it’s like you’ve unfriended or blocked each other.
However, the friendship can easily be renewed. If either person sends a friend request again, you’ll be reconnected if you accept.
But all previous Chat history will be erased. You’ll have to start a new Chat thread moving forward.
Does the Timer Impact Stories or Profiles?
The expiration timer only impacts your main friends list and Chat. Your friend disappearing from your list won’t affect the visibility of their public content.
You can still view friends’ Stories and profiles after your friendship expires. And they can still see your public content as well.
You’ll just lose access to chatting and private interactions. But public-facing Snaps, Stories, profiles, and more will still be visible.
Do Best Friends Have a Timer?
Best Friends are safe from the dreaded timer! Snapchat’s Best Friends feature highlights the friends you communicate with the most.
Once you become Best Friends with someone, your friendship will never expire. You’ll remain on each other’s Best Friends lists indefinitely with no timer.
Can I Turn Off the Friend Timer?
Unfortunately, there’s no setting to disable Snapchat’s friend timer. The timer is fundamental to how friendships work within Snapchat. All friends will have a 24-hour timer, unless you reach Best Friend status.
The only way around it is to regularly communicate with each friend before time runs out. Maintaining your Snapchat friendships essentially requires participating in the app.
Conclusion
Snapchat’s friend timer, while occasionally annoying, is an important feature that drives engagement. By putting time limits on friendships, Snapchat creates an incentive for friends to stay connected through regular communication.
While you can’t turn off the timer completely, it’s easy to keep friends by exchanging Snaps, chatting, gaming, and more. With a little effort, you can make sure your closest Snapchat friends don’t disappear.