What Happens When You Unfriend Someone on Snapchat?

When you unfriend someone on Snapchat, the immediate impact is that you no longer receive their Snaps or see their Stories in your feed. This results in a clear split in the relationship, reducing the visibility of their content on your profile.

Blocking vs. Unfriending: Understanding the Difference

It's important to understand the difference between blocking and unfriending on Snapchat. Unfriending removes the person from your friend list, while blocking prevents you from seeing anything sent to you by that person, even if you were still on their friend list.

For example, if someone unfriends you, you will no longer see their Snaps and Stories, but you can still receive files or messages if they were sent before the unfriend action. Conversely, if you block someone, you will not receive any new content from them until they are unblocked.

What Happens When a Friend Adds You Back?

If someone you have unfriended and later adds you back, Snapchat creates a buffer period in which they cannot send you Snaps until you accept their request to be reinstated as friends. On their screen, this message will be displayed: "Snapchat will go through once the user has added you back."

This period is in place to ensure both parties are aware of the reconnection and gives you a chance to decide before the message and content flow resumes.

Managing Your Connection Settings

Managing your connection settings on Snapchat is crucial for understanding who can contact you. There are three settings to choose from:

Only people you've added back can message you: This is the most secure option, limiting communication to only those you have added. Anyone can message you: This setting is the least secure, as it allows anyone to reach out to you. No one can message you: You are essentially making your account invisible to others.

To adjust your settings, go to your Snapchat settings, then select 'Who Can... Contact Me.' Here, you can choose the level of accessibility based on your preference.

Dealing with Confusion in Friend Requests

At times, you might encounter confusing situations, such as when a person unfriends you and later searches for you on Snapchat, showing a message that reads "added." This can lead to misunderstandings. The message generally means either that:

You added them first and they are trying to confirm the friendship Their profile is set to public, and you are included in their friend list

On the other hand, if you are unable to find such information on their profile and you do not see them in your friend list, it likely means that you have unfriended them. In such cases, it's best to verify with the person directly.

Additionally, if you receive messages stating that the messages are pending, this often indicates that the other user has not added you back as a friend. Snapchat requires mutual consent for successful communication.

The Bottom Line

Unfriending on Snapchat is a straightforward process that removes them from your feed but still allows for old files or messages to appear. Reconnecting requires mutual action, and managing your settings is key to controlling who can contact you and how they can reach you.