1. Create Private Stories
Like Instagram, Snapchat also allows users to create Stories that are ephemeral pieces of content that offer a glimpse into your daily routine. If you don’t want anyone having access to this info, know that you can control who views them. For one, it’s possible to create Private Stories. This option comes in handy when you want to share some things only with one special person, while your other Stories remain visible to everyone.
2. Move Private Snaps from Memories to “My Eyes Only”
Snapchat allows you to save the content, such as Stories that you’ve already posted or sent via the Memories folder. If you have the “Auto-save to Memories” option, enabling Private Stories will save everything to this particular folder. To prevent these images from popping up while you’re showing your Memories to a friend, you may want to move them to a more private location in Snapchat.
3. Enable Two-Factor Authentication (2FA)
Two-factor authentication adds a layer of security to your account and prevents unauthorized parties from accessing your account. Basically, every time you want to log in to Snapchat, you’ll need to input the password as well as a one-time code generated by an authenticator app. Alternatively, you can opt to receive it via SMS. Find out how you can enable 2FA for your Snapchat account. Tip: check out these suggestions for a good authenticator app.
4. Keep Personal Information Minimal
Avoid giving away too much private information about yourself in Snapchat. The app lets you add both your first and last name, as well as your birthday, but you don’t have to. You can keep using Snapchat even with a fake name and birthday. Best of all is that you can use it anonymously without even having to add your name at all. You’ll still need a username, but again, it doesn’t have to convey your true identity.
5. Allow Only Friends to Contact You
For those who want to keep their experience on Snapchat limited to their friends and other close acquaintances, know that you have control over who can interact with you via the social app. Follow the below instructions to learn how to change who gets to send you Snaps and messages and initiate calls. This will prevent others from contacting you. Only the people you’ve added to your Friends list on the app will be able to interact with you.
6. Opt Out of “Quick Add”
Snapchat wants to make sure you’re adding all the people you may or may not know on your list of friends. With this purpose in mind, it has introduced the “Quick Add” list, which is easily visible from your “Chat” and “Story” tabs, as well as “Search.” It contains recommendations based on who you’re already friends with, who you subscribe to and other factors. If you don’t want others on the list to view this, turn the option off.
7. Disable Contact Syncing
If you only wish to share your Snapchat with a select few, you should disable contact syncing so that you won’t be pressured to add everyone from your contact list who has a Snapchat account. If you’re in their phone’s contact list and they have the option enabled, Snapchat may still suggest you to them, unless you disable the “Quick Add” feature.
8. Turn on Ghost Mode
Like many similar services, Snapchat tracks your whereabouts. However, in this particular case, the app shares your approximate location with your Snapchat friends. It encourages interactions between users by showing who is near you and what they are doing. But it can also give people access to sensitive information. If you’re not comfortable with that, you can turn on Ghost Mode, which will hide your location from prying eyes.
Change Location Access for Snapchat
If you don’t trust Snapchat to do the right thing, you can take matters into your own hands and make some changes to your smartphone’s settings to ensure your location details are protected.
9. Be Wary of Those Who Screenshot Your Snaps
Snapchat shows you when someone has taken a snap of your conversation or Snaps. Keep an eye out for these notifications, as they may alert you to possible nefarious intentions. If you notice this behavior, it could be time to reassess whether you should continue being friends on Snapchat with that person. In the case of family and close friends, you probably have nothing to worry about. But if it’s someone you met on the app or a distant acquaintance, you may want to think about unfriending them for your own peace of mind. To make sure you don’t miss these messages, make sure you’ve enabled Snapchat notifications from the app as well as from the main settings of your device.
10. Don’t Add Random People
If you want to have a safe Snapchat experience, resist the urge to add random people on Snapchat. When you receive a new friend request, make sure you look over who the account belongs to and whether they can be trusted. If you’ve never heard or interacted with the person, it’s best to reject the friend request. Since many people use Snapchat to socialize, this may be hard to do. At the very least, make sure you don’t share the more private aspects of yourself by creating Private Stories, which they won’t have access to, and restricting their access further as shown here.
11. Be Careful Who You Send Snaps To
Be extra careful of who you send your Snaps to when you use Camera. It’s quite easy to accidentally tap on an extra person. You can’t unsend a Snap once you’ve sent it on its way, which is why you have to pay extra attention. Always make sure you check the blue band at the bottom of the display and double-check that you didn’t add anyone by mistake.
12. Clear Your History
As the last step to securing your account, clear your data on the app. This may include conversations, searches and more. It should also be mentioned that you can set future chats to be deleted once viewed. Do this manually for every person you’re chatting with by opening the chat and tapping on the “24 hours after viewing” button at the top. Change it to “After Viewing.” Image credit: DCStudio via Freepik All screenshots by Alexandra Arici
