Snapchat hates screenshots. It’s no secret how much Snapchat loves privacy. As such, it explicitly opposes any action that can potentially endanger the privacy of its users. Therefore, it’s no wonder that Snapchat hates it when you take screenshots on the app. But Snapchat knows better than merely watching these potential privacy breaches. It has got its weapon: notifications.
Screenshot notifications are among the platform’s premier weapons against potential privacy breaches. When you screenshot a user’s messages, snaps, stories, or even profile page, Snapchat immediately notifies the concerned user.
Due to all these notifications, you might wonder if Snapchat also notifies people about other screenshots, like those of their unopened stories.
Well, your doubts will come to an end by the time you finish reading this blog. Let’s explore how screenshot notifications work on Snapchat and whether the platform notifies anyone if you screenshot their unopened story.
Does Snapchat Notify if You Screenshot Unopened Story?
The fact that Snapchat sends notifications to people when you screenshot things on the app wards off people from screenshotting. As such, it’s normal to think twice before taking a screenshot anywhere on the app.
We know what you think. What if the person gets notified about the screenshot? What will they think? They may feel bad or consider me an invader in their privacy!
Wait! It’s high time you stopped thinking about all these things and took a long breath. Breathe in, breathe out. Yes. That’s better.
Now, what if we tell you that you are getting worried for no reason?
Here’s the thing: Snapchat doesn’t notify people every time you take a screenshot. While the platform sends notifications to people when you screenshot their messages, friendship profile, or snaps, that doesn’t mean every screenshot you take will send notifications all over your friend list!
So, let’s tell you straight away. Snapchat does NOT notify anyone if you screenshot an unopened story. By unopened story, we mean stories you have not viewed yet, which appear as circular thumbnails at the top of the Stories feed.
Screenshotting from the stories feed is important because if you screenshot the unopened story thumbnail from a friend’s profile page, they will be notified that you screenshotted their profile.
But as long as you screenshot an unopened story from the Stories feed, you are good to go!
Which screenshots don’t send notifications on Snapchat?
Screenshotting unopened stories won’t send notifications to anyone, which is great. But in reality, it’s not because of random luck. Notifying people about random screenshots of their unopened stories doesn’t make sense, anyway.
This might make you wonder, “How does Snapchat decide when to send notifications and when not to send them?” Well, the answer is simpler than you think.
Here’s why Snapchat sends screenshot notifications
The purpose behind sending notifications about screenshots is to protect users’ privacy. By notifying people about screenshots potentially taken without their consent, Snapchat aims to make the platform more transparent and less shady by telling people who they can trust.
Suppose you are having a serious personal conversation with a friend. You would want your friend to keep things private and not inform anyone else about this conversation. But if the friend is not a true confidant and takes a screenshot of all the sensitive things you have said to them, how will you know?
That’s where Snapchat steps in. It notifies people whenever someone takes a screenshot of their chats or messages. This way, users can deal with each other and understand who is trustworthy and who isn’t.
When are notifications required?
Screenshot notifications are Snapchat’s smart way of respecting and protecting the privacy of its users. By sending notifications about screenshots, Snapchat makes itself more transparent and privacy-oriented without taking bold measures like blocking screenshots altogether.
However, not all screenshots need to be notified about. After all, not everything on Snapchat is confidential, private, and sensitive. As such, pestering people with unwanted notifications about screenshots doesn’t make sense.
Snapchat only sends notifications about screenshots if it thinks there is a potential privacy breach. Of course, it doesn’t read the contents of each screenshot you take; that would be senseless and impractical.
Instead, Snapchat only sends notifications if you screenshot certain sections of the app. These sections include:
- Friendship profiles (profiles of your friends)
- Chat screen of a friend or group
- Snaps sent by a friend
- Stories shared by a friend
Snapchat sends notifications for screenshots of these particular things because these places or things can contain personal, sensitive, or confidential information about a user. The aim is to make the platform safer, more secure, and transparent.
However, a screenshot of an unopened story would not disclose any such information since you have not opened the story yet. Therefore, Snapchat won’t care to send notifications, as that would not make sense.
Similarly, no notification will be sent if you screenshot your own profile, the chat list, public stories, and so on.
How to know if someone screenshotted your Snapchat story?
When someone screenshots your messages, you usually see the notification as a text that says, “[friend’s name] took a screenshot of the Chat.”
However, when someone screenshots your story, you don’t get any such text on the chat screen. Instead, Snapchat prefers a subtler way to tell you about screenshots of your stories. Follow these steps to know if someone took a screenshot of your Snapchat story:
Step 1: Open Snapchat and log into your account.
Step 2: Head to your profile page and scroll down to the My Stories subhead. You can see the thumbnails of all the snaps you’ve added to your story.
Step 3: For snaps that have been screenshotted, you will see a small icon just above the number of views. This icon tells the number of people who have screenshotted the individual snap. Tap on a snap to view the list of viewers.
Step 4: On the viewer list, you will see the same screenshot icon next to the friend who took the screenshot. The icon looks like the send button arrow you see after taking a selfie on Snapchat. All the viewers who have the said icon next to their name took the screenshot.
You see, it’s pretty simple to know who took screenshots of your story snaps!
Closing thoughts
Snapchat notifications are dreaded options for anyone who wants to take screenshots on the platform. However, not every screenshot leads to a notification.
Snapchat notifies about screenshots only if the screenshot has the potential to contain sensitive info like messages and photos. But if you only want to take screenshots of unopened stories, Snapchat won’t send any notification at all.
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