One interesting thing about Snapchat is how many features it has. Snapchat is a social media app packed with many awesome features that keep users glued to the app for long periods.
Expectedly, Snapchat is not short of icons, and with icons comes meaning and then usage. Wrapping your head around the definitions of each icon is significant to how you use them.
The timer or hourglass feature on Snapchat helps you know when your Snapstreak is about to end.
One of these many icons is the hourglass icon, which signifies a timer. What does it mean? How does it work?. These are questions that might be bothering you.
Fret not! This article will answer all of your questions concerning the timer on Snapchat and give you a little extra.
What Does The Snapchat Timer Mean?
The timer or hourglass feature on Snapchat helps you know when your Snapstreak is about to end.
What does a Snapstreak even mean? A Snapstreak on Snapchat, also known as a streak, counts how many days (usually at least three days) in a row you managed to send photos or videos (called Snaps) to a particular friend.
Snapchat introduced the timer feature to make sure that users are aware that they need to take action quickly when their streak is about to end. Just like an alert that you’re slipping off, you need to up your game during your Snaps.
How Does the Timer Work on Snapchat?
The Timer works hand in hand with the Snapstreak. To know how it works, you must understand how Snapstreak works. We’d explain that below.
Before we go, remember a Snap is not a chat. It represents photos and videos that are sent between Snapchat users.
A Snapstreak is estimated in a 24-hour timeframe. This means that you must exchange at least one Snap between you and another user within the 24-hour timeframe so that your timer (Hourglass icon) does not run out.
If no Snaps are exchanged from both ends within this period, the hourglass icon will appear on the right side of your profile, and on your friend’s profile, the fire icon (signifying) will disappear, and your countdown will begin.
As soon as the timer runs down, your streak with that specific user comes to an end. You can choose to restart a new streak afterward.
How To Avoid the Snapchat Timer
The most obvious and best way to avoid the Snapchat timer is to send snaps regularly. Achieving this requires a level of commitment, and of course, it is fun all the way!
Maintain a good routine, inform the other party, and Snap regularly! You’re good to go.
Summary
Hopefully, this article helped you to understand the timer feature and you can continue to have an excellent Snapchatting experience.
This write-up would ensure you understand how one of the most used features on Snapchat works and how you can work your way around it to have a good experience on the app.
FAQs
You’ll know your Snapstreak is about to end when you see an hourglass emoji next to the friend’s name you are on the streak with. This means you have four hours left to send or receive a snap from that particular friend before your ongoing streak with them expires.
Snapchat was launched in 2011, and the streak feature was introduced in 2015. As of March 2022, the longest Snapchat streak recorded is 2492+, and it belongs to Samko and Fatmis, which is still recorded today. The intense competition among Snapchat users could break this record soonest.
According to Snapchat rules, users must send one another snaps to keep the streak going. Snaps here refer to photos and videos. Sending a message in the chat does not count and will not keep a streak alive.
Yes. You can simply stop sending a user snaps of photos or videos, and the streak should end within the 24-hour timeframe. If the user does the same, the streak will be gone.
