Snapchat has no single "private account" switch. Your account already starts out fairly closed, and privacy comes down to four questions: who can reach you, who can watch your Story, who can see where you are, and who gets you suggested as a friend. Each one has its own setting, and all of them sit in the same part of the app.

Quick steps:

  1. Open your Profile and tap the gear icon (⚙️) to open Settings.
  2. Scroll to App & Privacy and tap Contact Me, then pick Friends.
  3. Back in App & Privacy, open My Privacy & Data and set View My Story to My Friends or Custom.
  4. In the same list, review Who Can See Me In Find Friends and Who Can See My Location.
  5. Open the Map, tap the gear on the map screen and switch on Ghost Mode if you want to vanish from it.

Where the privacy settings are

Snapchat's help pages give a single route for the app, without separate iPhone and Android steps. Everything starts from the gear icon on your Profile, which opens Settings. Scroll down until you reach the App & Privacy group. Three entries there matter for privacy:

  • Contact Me decides who can send you Snaps, Chats and calls.
  • My Privacy & Data holds most of the visibility controls: your Story, your location, Find Friends, your Bitmoji, mutual friends and the Activity Indicator.
  • My App, then My Selfie, controls who can generate images using your Selfie.

Snapchat's help pages only talk about the mobile app for these controls, so plan to make these changes on your phone.

Who can contact you

Tap Contact Me and you get two choices:

  • Friends: only people you have added as friends can send you Snaps, Chats or calls.
  • Friends and Contacts: friends, plus anyone saved in your phone's contact list.

For most people Friends is the quieter option. An "Everyone" choice used to exist, but Snapchat now keeps it for Creator and business accounts only. Two side effects are worth knowing. First, group chats are separate: if you share a group with someone, they can still talk to you there even when they are not your friend, so press and hold a group's name in Chat to check who is in it before you join. Second, when a non-friend sends you a Snap, you won't see it; you only get a notice that they added you. Add them back and the Snap appears.

Who can see your Story

Your Story is visible to your friends unless you change it. To check, go to Settings, App & Privacy, My Privacy & Data, scroll to Who Can See and tap View My Story. Pick My Friends, or Custom if there are particular friends you want to leave out.

Keep the timing in mind. Each Snap keeps the audience it had at the moment you posted it, so tightening the setting later doesn't pull back Snaps that went out under a wider one. Snapchat also notes that some Snapchatters may still have an "Everyone" setting, which lets any Snapchatter see the Story, so it is worth opening this screen even if you never touched it.

If you have a Public Profile, the Story audience is changed from your profile instead. Posting to My Story · Public reaches anyone on Snapchat, while My Story · Friends stays with your friends, so check which one is selected before you post.

Snap Map and Ghost Mode

Location sharing on Snap Map is off until you turn it on, and your location isn't shown on the Map before you open it for the first time. If you have shared it, Ghost Mode is the quick way to disappear:

  1. Open the Map.
  2. Tap the gear icon on the map screen to open Map Settings.
  3. Switch on Ghost Mode.
  4. If timer options appear, choose how long: 3 hours, 24 hours or Until Turned Off.

While it is on, your Bitmoji holds a small blue sign with a ghost on it (unless you are sharing live location). Two limits apply. Snapchat itself still receives your location; Ghost Mode only stops other people from seeing it on the Map. And any Snap you submit to Snap Map can still appear there whatever your location setting says.

If you once allowed background sharing, go to your phone's own settings and set Snapchat's location access to Only while using. In My Privacy & Data, Who Can See My Location lets you narrow the audience further.

Find Friends, the feature once called Quick Add

Quick Add was renamed Find Friends. It suggests people you might know to other users, and you can stop appearing there. Open My Privacy & Data and adjust Who Can See Me In Find Friends. Snapchat warns that a change to this setting can take up to 72 hours to apply, so don't worry if you still show up as a suggestion the next day.

What stays private and what doesn't

Kept private by Snapchat's defaults Can still reach other people
Your friend list, which only you can see Messages you send inside group chats you share with non-friends
Your Story, shown to friends only Snaps posted to My Story · Public
Your location, until you choose to share it Snaps you submit to Snap Map
Direct Snaps, Chats and calls from non-friends A "they added you" notice from someone you haven't added

Screenshots are the other gap. Snapchat reminds you that others can screenshot your Snaps, so share accordingly.

Other settings worth a look

All of these live in My Privacy & Data:

  • Activity Indicator: decides whether other Snapchatters can see that you have been active recently. Turn it off if you'd rather not signal when you are around.
  • Mutual Friends: choose whether your mutual friends list is shown and whether you appear in your friends' lists.
  • Who Can Use My Bitmoji Avatar: limits who can put your Bitmoji in Friendmoji stickers and Bitmoji Stories.
  • Who Can Generate with My Selfie: also reachable through My App and My Selfie.

For teenagers, Snapchat says the app is for ages 13 and up, Public Profiles are off by default and only open to users 16 and older, and teens appear in other people's Find Friends suggestions only in limited cases, such as many mutual friends or already being in an uploaded contact list.

Account security

Snapchat's own safety checklist recommends a strong, unique password, two-factor authentication, a passkey, and a regular look at the devices logged in to your account, removing any you don't recognise. It also suggests logging out of shared devices and friends' phones. If you reuse passwords anywhere, our guide to password hygiene after credential leaks walks through a simple fix.

Your Snapchat settings don't cover your IP address

Ghost Mode and Story settings decide what other Snapchatters see; they have nothing to do with your network connection. Snapchat, like any app, still sees the IP address you connect from, and whoever runs your Wi-Fi or mobile service can tell that your phone is exchanging data with Snapchat. A VPN replaces your real IP address with the VPN server's address for apps and websites and keeps the local network from reading your traffic. It doesn't make you anonymous on Snapchat, because the account you are signed in to is still yours. To see the address others currently see, and to test for leaks, read how to check your IP address or open our What is my IP tool; VPNRice apps are on the download page.

FAQ

Is a Snapchat account private by default?

Mostly, yes. Snapchat says friend lists are private for everyone, only friends can contact you or view your Story until you change it, and location sharing starts off. The exceptions are things you opt into, such as public Stories or a Public Profile.

Does Ghost Mode hide my location from Snapchat?

No. Ghost Mode hides you from other people on the Map, but Snapchat still receives your location. To limit what the app collects in the background, set location access to Only while using in your phone settings.

I turned off Find Friends but still get suggested. Why?

Snapchat says the change can take up to 72 hours. If you still appear after that, open Who Can See Me In Find Friends again and confirm the choice was saved.

Can I make my Story visible to everyone except a few friends?

Yes. Under View My Story, choose Custom and pick the friends who shouldn't see it. Snaps already posted keep the audience they had when you shared them.

Last checked: October 2026. Menu names can differ slightly between app versions and regions.

Snapchat, Snap Map and Bitmoji are trademarks of their respective owners. VPNRice is not affiliated with Snap Inc.