3 Ways to View a Snapchat Story on Android & iPhone

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A quick guide to view all current Stories on the Snapchat app

Written by Rain Kengly

Last Updated: August 26, 2024 Fact Checked

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Viewing a Friend's Story

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Viewing Your Own Stories

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Viewing Public Stories

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Q&A

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Tips

Whether you want to see a friend's Story or your own, you can access it in a few simple steps. Stories will be active for 24 hours after posting; any Stories or clips posted after that timeframe will be deleted permanently. You can also find new, random Stories in the "Discovery" tab and "Spotlight" tab. This wikiHow will show you how to find and view your friend's, your own, and public Snapchat Stories.

Things You Should Know

Tap the "Stories" tab to view other people's stories. Tap a Story to play it.
To view your own Story, tap your profile circle in the top-left corner. Tap your Story to play it.
To view public Stories, tap the "Stories" tab and tap a Story underneath "Discover ". You can also tap the Play button to view Spotlight Stories.

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Viewing a Friend's Story

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1
Open the Snapchat app. This is the white ghost with a yellow background.^{[1]
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- Snapchat is available for iOS in the App Store and for Android in the Google Play Store.
- If you aren't already logged in, tap Sign in to do so now, or create an account.
2
Tap the Stories tab. This is the icon of the two people at the bottom-right corner.
- You can also swipe from right to left to open this page.
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3
Tap a Story. You'll see a list of Stories at the top, underneath the Friends header. Swipe to flip through available Stories or to find a specific user.
- As long as you haven't already seen their Story, any user who posted a Story within the last 24 hours will be shown first. You'll see a preview of their Story within the circle.
- When you tap a Story, it will begin playing immediately.
4
Navigate through the Story. Tapping the left side of the screen will rewind to the previous Story segment. Tapping on the right will skip to the next Story segment.
- If you finish the current Story, you'll usually automatically skip to the next one.
- Swipe down to exit the Story view.
- If you want to rewatch someone's Story, it will be towards the end of the Story list. Tap it again to view it.

Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Viewing Your Own Stories

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This is the white ghost with a yellow background. If you aren't already logged in, tap Sign in to do so now, or create an account.
This is the icon at the top-left corner. In most cases, this will be your Bitmoji
3
Tap your Story. You'll find a list of your Stories under the header "My Stories". The number next to the eye icon shows how often your Story has been watched.
- You can see who else viewed your Story by swiping up from the bottom of your screen as the Story plays.
- If needed, you can change who can see your Story or create a private Story.
- Since a Story will remain visible on your profile for up to 24 hours, you can see how much of that time your Story has been posted. For example, if the Snap in the Story reads that it was posted "1 hr ago", it will be on your Story for 23 more hours.

Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Viewing Public Stories

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This is the white ghost with a yellow background. If you aren't already logged in, tap Sign in to do so now, or create an account.
2
Tap the Stories tab. This is the icon of the two people at the bottom-right corner.
- You can also swipe from right to left to open this page.
3
Tap a Story. You can find public Stories underneath the Discover Tab. It will begin playing immediately.
- If you like the content, tap the yellow Subscribe button at the top-right corner. This will put the user underneath the Subscriptions tab of the Stories page.
4
View Spotlights. Spotlights are Stories that are promoted, boosted, or popular at the moment. You can find Spotlights by tapping the Play icon in the bottom-right corner.
- Swipe up or tap the screen to view the next Spotlight. This tab functions similarly to the TikTok For You page; it will keep generating videos until you close the app.

Community Q&A

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Question

Can I see someone's story if I've added them but they haven't added me yet?

Community Answer

No, you cannot, they have to accept your friend request on Snapchat, so you can see their story and they can see yours.

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Question

Why can I not see my friend's story on Snapchat?

Community Answer

Your friends have probably not accepted you friend request on Snapchat or they choose not to share their story with you (which you can access in Settings).

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Tips

User Stories disappear forever once the 24-hour limit passes.

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It is not possible to view the private stories of a Snapchat user you don't follow.

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