7 Easy Ways to Know if Someone Is Online on Snapchat

Co-authored by Melissa Newman and Darlene Antonelli, MA

Last Updated: August 13, 2024 Fact Checked

Do you want to know when your friend is online on Snapchat? While there is no way to know for sure if someone is online, you can determine whether or not your friend is active using the app by checking a few different things. This wikiHow article teaches you how to see if one of your Snapchat friends is currently using Snapchat.

Section 1 of 7:

Checking Snap Map

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Tap the Snapchat app icon, which resembles a white ghost on a yellow background. The Snapchat camera will open if you're logged in.
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Tap the map pin icon. It's the leftmost icon in the row of icons at the bottom of your screen.^{[1]
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- This will open Snap Map, so you'll see your Bitmoji on a map.
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Tap your friends' Bitmoji. You may need to pinch or drag the map to zoom out or move around.^{[2]
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- Alternatively, you can tap the Friends icon in the lower right corner to see all your friends that use Snap Map or you can go to their profile and tap their Bitmoji.
- If you don't see your friends' Bitmoji at all, they could have enabled "Ghost mode," which hides them from appearing in Snap Map.
If you've found and tapped your friends' Bitmoji, you should see when they were last seen in a status bar under their name. For example, a "Last seen 1 min ago" could mean that your friend is still actively online!^{[3]
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Section 2 of 7:

Checking Their Stories

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Open Snapchat
and to Friends. Tap the Snapchat app icon, which resembles a white ghost on a yellow background. The Snapchat camera will open if you're logged in and you can tap the Friends icon at the bottom of the screen to view recent Stories.^{[4]
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- If your friend created and posted a new Story, you'll be able to see how recently they created the Story near the top of your screen.
- If, however, they uploaded a video or picture from their camera roll, the time stamp will show when that media was taken (when it was originally captured) instead of when the Story was created. For example, if your friend recently shared a photo that was taken 1 week ago, the timestamp will show that the Story was created a week ago.

Section 3 of 7:

Enabling Story Notifications

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Tap the Snapchat app icon, which resembles a white ghost on a yellow background.
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Tap your profile picture. It's the Bitmoji that you created and is located in the top left corner of your screen.
- Once you've checked the current Stories, you'll want to continue to turn on Story notifications.
This gear icon is in the top right corner of your screen.
It's near the middle of the menu.
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Tap the box next to Stories from Friends to check it
. You might instead see a toggle that you need to tap to enable this feature. As long as the switch is green (pointing right) or the box is checked, this is enabled.^{[5]
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- You should get push notifications sent to your phone any time one of your friends publishes a Story.
- You can further customize this by tapping "Managing Story Notifications" in the same menu (it's at the very bottom). Tap the name(s) of your friend(s) that you want to receive notifications for. Tap Done at the bottom of your screen when you're finished and you'll only get notifications when the selected friend(s) post.

Section 4 of 7:

Checking Who Viewed Your Story

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1
Open Snapchat
and to Friends. Tap the Snapchat app icon, which resembles a white ghost on a yellow background.
- They might not have made a Story, but they could have viewed yours! As a Story creator, you can see everyone who has watched your Story.
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Tap your Bitmoji. It's in the top left corner of your screen.^{[6]
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- This won't work if you don't have a Story up to view.
It will open up and begin playing on your screen.^{[7]
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Tap the eyeball icon. This Seen by button is in the lower-left corner of your screen.
- A window will slide up and show who has watched your Story. If someone has viewed your Story, they've been online in the last 24 hours. As time passes and the longer your Story is published, the most recent viewers will be displayed at the top of the list. In that case, if the person you're trying to catch online appears at the top of the list, they've been the most recent user to watch your Story.

Section 5 of 7:

Sending a Chat

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1
Open Snapchat
. Tap the Snapchat app icon, which resembles a white ghost on a yellow background. The Snapchat camera will open if you're logged in.
- If you aren't logged in, tap LOG IN, enter your username (or email address, or phone number) and password, and tap LOG IN.
Swipe right over the Camera page to do so. You should see a list of recently snapped friends appear.
Scroll down until you find the name of the person to whom you recently sent a snap.^{[8]
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Swipe from left to right across your friend's name to do so.^{[9]
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Type in a message, then tap the Send button.
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Wait for your friend's Bitmoji to appear. It will pop up in the bottom-left corner of the chat window, just above the text box. If you see the Bitmoji appear, your friend is currently online and reading your chat.
- If your friend doesn't use Bitmoji, you'll instead see a smiley face icon appear. The face will turn into a blue dot after a few seconds.
- If the Bitmoji (or blue dot) doesn't appear, your friend is either offline or not responding to your chat.

Section 6 of 7:

Checking Sent Snaps

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1
Open Snapchat
. Tap the Snapchat app icon, which resembles a white ghost on a yellow background. The Snapchat camera will open if you're logged in.
- If you aren't logged in, tap LOG IN, enter your username (or email address, or phone number) and password, and tap LOG IN.
Swipe right over the Camera page to do so. You should see a list of recently snapped friends appear.
Scroll down until you find the name of the person to whom you recently sent a snap.
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Look at the "Opened" timestamp for the last snap you sent to them. You should see an outline of a triangle and the word "Opened" below the person's name, along with the time which they opened the snap listed in seconds, minutes, or hours.^{[10]
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- If your friend opened the snap within the last minute or so, they're most likely still online.
- If you instead see a solid triangle with the word "Delivered" next to it, they haven't yet opened your snap.

Section 7 of 7:

Checking Their Snap Score

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Tap the Snapchat app icon, which resembles a white ghost on a yellow background.
Tap your Bitmoji avatar in the top left corner of your screen, then tap Friends to see a list of your Snapchat friends.^{[11]
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Tap and hold a friend's name. When you tap and hold a contact, a new window will pop up. Instead, if you tap a contact's name, you will start a chat with them, which you don't want in this instance.^{[12]
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- In this new window, you'll see a Snapchat icon (a ghost) with a number. Make note of this number, as it is their Snap Score.
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Check their Snap Score again in a few minutes. Snap Scores update every few minutes, so waiting 5-10 minutes between checking if their Snap Score changed is a good idea.
- If their Snap Score goes up, there is a good chance that they are actively sending Snaps to other people.

Community Q&A

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Question

How can I know that someone is online without opening the chat window or sending massages on Snapchat?

Community Answer

If they are sharing their location with you then you can see when they last opened Snapchat because it will say where they were.

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Question

What if they have been online but it still says "delivered"?

Community Answer

That means that the person hasn't opened your Snapchat yet; it may have gone unnoticed.

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Question

There is a blue triangle outline by my friend's name, and it says "Opened at 1:05 PM." But in our chat, there are filled red squares that say "Delivered." Did he see them?

Caeiia

Top Answerer

Blue triangles mean that your friend opened a chat message. A red square (filled) means that your friend has not opened your Snap, but the Snap has been sent. A Snap is a picture sent that you took from your camera, while a chat message is just, well, a message in words or a picture sent like a text message. Your friend can open a chat message without opening a Snap or vice versa.

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If a friend hasn't opened your snap or chat, it doesn't necessarily mean that they're offline.

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In that case, check a few other places like Snap Map or their Snap Score to see if they are active and online.

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If you see that a friend has opened your snap and still not replied, don't send them another message. They may just be busy and you should wait for them to message you back.

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