What is a Snapchat Streak?

Snapchat streaks or Snapstreaks for short, is the highlight feature of Snapchat that keeps users hooked on the platform. If you are new to Snapchat, then I’m sure your friends must have asked you to start a streak or Snapstreak with them. But you have no clue what are they, how they work, and where to get started. Don’t worry, we’re here to help you learn everything you need to know about Snapchat Streaks.

What is a Snapchat Streak?

Snapchat Streaks or Snapstreaks, are basically a measure of your activity with another Snapchat user. When you send or receive a Snap to a person, and keep doing it consecutively for three days straight, then you start a streak with them. You can tell you have started a streak when a fire emoji (🔥) shows up next to your friend’s name.

This number will keep increasing as you both keep exchanging Snaps with one another daily. However, if you fail to do so within a 24-hour window, the Snapstreak will be lost. So to maintain a long-running streak, you and your friend must ensure to send Snaps without fail every day.

What Counts Towards Snapstreaks?

But you might be asking, what contributes towards a Snapstreak? Does a regular photo work? Well, Snapchat has made it clear that only two activities count towards Snapstreaks:

• Sending and receiving photo Snaps
• Sending and receiving video Snaps

You won’t gain a Snapstreak if you text the person, post Stories (even if it is a private story), or send Snaps to a group chat. You need to click Snaps right from Snapchat’s camera. Sending the Snap from your camera roll or Memories doesn’t count either. Also, if you are one of the few who bought Snapchat Spectacles, I have bad news for you. Snaps clicked through them will also not count towards your streak.

What Do Snapstreak Emojis Mean?

Snapchat uses emojis to indicate the progress of your Snapstreak with someone. However, it can be confusing to decode these emojis. Especially for new users. So here is a quick rundown of some basic Snapchat emojis and their meaning.

• Flame 🔥 Emoji: It means that your Snapstreak has started with a friend. As mentioned above, you will have to send and receive Snaps for three consecutive days for the Snapstreak to start.
• 100 💯 Emoji: This appears when you consistently maintain your Snapstreak for 100 days. The app will switch back to the flame emoji on day 101.
• Hourglass ⌛ Emoji: It helps you warn that your Snapstreak is about to expire. It disappears soon after you send a new Snap to keep the Snapstreak active. If you see an hourglass emoji, that means you have 4 hours to send or receive a Snap to save the Snapstreak.

Share Snapchat Streak in Story

Snapchat used to have a dedicated filter featuring the Snapstreak day count. While that is no longer available, you still have a way to flaunt your Snapstreak with your friend via Charms. Here’s how to do it:

1. Inside your Snapchat Chat, tap on the profile icon of the person, with whom you have a Snapstreak.
2. Scroll down until you reach the Charms section and look for the Snapstreak charm.
3. Tap to expand the Snapstreak charm and take its screenshot. Do note that Snapchat will notify your friend when you take a screenshot of the friendship profile.

4. Now go to the camera tab, and tap on the gallery icon on the left side.
5. Then navigate to Camera Roll and select the screenshot you want to use.
6. Edit the image the way you want, and lastly, tap on Story to share it with everyone.

Tips to Increase Snapstreak

1. Send Photo Snaps

The easiest way to increase Snapstreak is to send photo Snaps to the other person. If you are running out of ideas, you could just send a blank Snap to keep the streak going. Most long-term Snapstreaks are usually blank unless both participants are socially active and outgoing.

2. Send Video Snaps

If you find sending static images boring, then you can send video Snaps too. Video Snaps also feel more personal, and you can add music to them to make them more interesting.

3. Be Consistent

Since streaks expire after 24 hours, it’s important to stay consistent. If you often forget to send Snaps, you can schedule a reminder as an extreme measure. If you have a Snapchat+ subscription, you can enable Snapstreak Reminders by going to your profile > Snapchat+ > Snapstreak Reminders and turning on the toggles for friends you wish to receive an alert for.

4. Troubleshoot Snapchat if the app isn’t working

If your Snapchat app is not working properly, you won’t be able to keep up your Snapstreak. In such cases, you need to act quickly to fix the app. There are multiple ways to fix the Snapchat app not working issue, and you can check our guides for detailed instructions.

5. Request to restore lost Snapstreak

In case you lost your Snapstreak due to a technical issue, contact Snapchat’s support team and request them to restore your streak. We have a dedicated guide you can check to get Snapstreak back.

That about wraps it up. Now you can go and start Snapstreak with your friends on the app, and keep it going till eternity if you wish. The feature became an instant hit with app users and dare I say, is one of the biggest reasons people use Snapchat so frequently these days. But what are your thoughts about it? Let us know in the comments section below.