How to Hide Your Story on Snapchat: The Definitive Guide

Want to control who sees your fleeting glimpses into your life on Snapchat? You’ve come to the right place. Hiding your story on Snapchat is simpler than you think, and it’s a powerful tool for managing your privacy and curating your audience. You can easily achieve this by leveraging Snapchat’s built-in privacy settings, allowing you to select specific friends who can’t view your story. This means you can tailor your content to different groups, ensuring only the people you want to see it actually do. Let’s dive in!

Mastering Your Snapchat Story Privacy

Snapchat offers a few different methods for hiding your story, each catering to specific needs. Let’s explore these options in detail:

Method 1: Custom Friend List

This is the most direct way to prevent specific people from seeing your story. Here’s how it’s done:

1. Open Snapchat: Launch the Snapchat app on your smartphone.
2. Navigate to Your Profile: Tap on your Bitmoji icon or profile picture in the top-left corner of the screen.
3. Access Settings: Tap on the gear icon in the top-right corner to open the settings menu.
4. Scroll to Privacy Controls: Scroll down until you find the “Privacy Controls” section.
5. Tap “View My Story”: Select this option to adjust who can see your Snapchat story.
6. Choose “Custom”: You’ll see a list of options: “Everyone,” “My Friends,” and “Custom.” Select “Custom.” This is where the magic happens.
7. Select the “No Viewing” option: Now you’ll see a list of all your Snapchat friends. Simply tap on the names of the individuals you want to prevent from seeing your story. A checkmark will appear next to their names, indicating they won’t be able to view your story.
8. Save Your Changes: Once you’ve selected the desired individuals, tap the “Block” button (Android) or the “Hide” button (iOS) at the bottom of the screen to save your changes. Snapchat will remember your selection for future stories.

Method 2: Blocking Users

While technically not hiding your story in the strictest sense, blocking a user effectively prevents them from seeing your story. They won’t be able to view your profile, send you snaps, or interact with you in any way on the platform.

1. Find the User: You can find the user you want to block in your chat list or by searching for their username.
2. Access User Profile: Tap and hold on their name in your chat list. This should bring up a menu. Alternatively, open a chat with them and tap on their Bitmoji at the top.
3. Manage Friendship: Tap on the three vertical dots in the top right corner of the screen.
4. Select “Block”: Choose the “Block” option from the menu.
5. Confirm Blocking: Snapchat will ask you to confirm your decision. Tap “Block” again to finalize the process.

Method 3: Creating a Private Story

This is a great option if you want to share a story with a specific group of people. Private Stories are only visible to the friends you explicitly add to the viewer list.

1. Open Snapchat: Launch the app.
2. Go to the Camera Screen: Navigate to the camera screen, where you take snaps.
3. Create a Snap: Take a photo or video for your story.
4. Tap “Send To”: After creating your Snap, tap the “Send To” button.
5. Tap “Private Story”: You should see a “Private Story” option. Tap on it.
6. Select Friends: A list of your friends will appear. Choose the friends you want to be able to view your Private Story.
7. Post Your Story: Tap the “Create Story” button to publish your Private Story. Only the friends you selected will be able to see it.

Method 4: Adjusting “Who Can…” Settings

This method allows you to broadly control who can contact you, view your stories, and see your location on the Snap Map. It’s a more general approach to privacy management.

1. Open Snapchat: Launch the app.
2. Go to Your Profile: Tap on your Bitmoji icon.
3. Access Settings: Tap on the gear icon.
4. Navigate to Privacy Controls: Scroll down to the “Privacy Controls” section.
5. Review and Adjust Settings: Here you can adjust settings for “Contact Me,” “View My Story,” “See My Location,” and “See Me in Quick Add.” Make sure “View My Story” is set to “My Friends” or “Custom” for greater control.

Important Considerations

• Privacy is Dynamic: Remember that your privacy needs can change over time. Regularly review and update your Snapchat privacy settings.
• Mutual Friends: If a friend you’ve hidden your story from is viewing a shared story with another friend, they might indirectly see your Snap if the other friend reposts it.
• Beware of Screenshots: While you can control who sees your story, you can’t prevent them from taking screenshots. Be mindful of the content you post.
• Third-Party Apps: Avoid using unofficial third-party apps that claim to offer enhanced privacy features. These apps can compromise your account security and violate Snapchat’s terms of service.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. If I block someone, can they still see my old stories?

No. Blocking someone prevents them from seeing any of your content, past, present, or future, including your stories, snaps, and profile.

2. Will someone know if I’ve hidden my story from them using the “Custom” setting?

No. Snapchat doesn’t notify users when you hide your story from them using the “Custom” setting. They’ll simply no longer see your story in their feed.

3. Can I hide my story from everyone except a few specific people?

Yes, you can achieve this by using a Private Story. Create a private story and only add the specific people you want to be able to view it.

4. How often can I change my “Custom” story viewing list?

You can change your “Custom” list as often as you like. There’s no limit to how many times you can add or remove people.

5. If I add someone to my “Custom” list after posting a story, will they be able to see it?

No. The “Custom” setting only applies to stories posted after you’ve made the changes. They won’t be able to see stories posted before you added them to the list.

6. What’s the difference between “My Friends” and “Custom” in the “View My Story” settings?

“My Friends” allows anyone on your friends list to view your story. “Custom” gives you granular control to specifically exclude individuals from viewing your story.

7. Can I hide my story from someone without unfriending them?

Yes! That’s the power of the “Custom” setting. You can hide your story without removing them as a friend.

8. If I make my story public, will everyone on Snapchat be able to see it?

Yes, if you set your “View My Story” setting to “Everyone,” your story becomes public and potentially visible to anyone on Snapchat, even people who aren’t your friends. Be cautious when using this setting.

9. Does hiding my story also hide my Snap Map location?

No, hiding your story and sharing your location on the Snap Map are separate settings. You need to adjust the “See My Location” setting in the Privacy Controls to manage who can see your location.

10. How do I know if someone has hidden their story from me?

Unfortunately, there’s no way to definitively know if someone has hidden their story from you. You’ll simply stop seeing their stories, but there could be other reasons for that (e.g., they stopped posting, they unfriended you).

11. If I unblock someone, will they be able to see my old stories?

No. Unblocking someone only allows them to see your future stories and content. They won’t be able to access stories you posted while they were blocked.

12. Can I create multiple private stories?

Yes! Snapchat allows you to create multiple private stories, each with its own unique list of viewers. This is perfect for sharing different content with different groups of friends.