What does the hourglass mean on Snapchat and how long does it last?

You may have seen the hourglass emoji pop up next to your friend’s name on Snapchat, but what does it mean, and how long does it last?

Snapchat is still a hugely popular place for people to connect with their friends, allowing users to send each other disappearing photos, videos, and direct messages, as well as post to their stories.

When you talk to someone on the app often enough, you will sometimes end up with an emoji next to their name, such as a red heart, which indicates something about your relationship to this person on the platform (for example, you might be someone’s ‘best friend’ on the app.)

You may have seen an hourglass pop up next to the name of one of your friends, but what does this emoji mean on Snapchat? Here’s what you need to know.

Unsplash: Alexander Shatov

What does the hourglass emoji mean on Snapchat?

If the hourglass emoji appears next to your friend’s name on Snapchat it means your streak with that person is ending soon.

If you have a streak with someone, it means you have messaged each other every day for a certain number of consecutive days. This is indicated by a number and a fire emoji next to someone’s name, indicating how long the streak has been.

Once the hourglass pops up, you only have a few hours to exchange snaps with that person before your streak runs out. It’s worth noting that snaps and chats sent in group chats don’t count toward your streak.

So, if there’s an hourglass emoji by your friend’s name on Snapchat, make sure you snap them ASAP to avoid losing your streak.

How long does the hourglass last on Snapchat?

The hourglass appears next to someone’s name at 20 hours and gives you 4 hours to clear it, according to Snapchat.

If you want to learn more about how to use Snapchat, you can check out some of our other guides here:

How to remove someone from your Snapchat best friends list | How to allow camera access on Snapchat | How to make a public profile on Snapchat | How to make a private story on Snapchat | How to pin someone on Snapchat