You can remove someone from Snapchat in three ways, depending on what you want to happen next
Removing someone from Snapchat is straightforward, but the method you choose changes what that person sees and whether they can contact you afterward. You can unfriend them (they stay on your friends list but can't message you), block them (they can't find you or message you), or delete the conversation (the chat disappears from your inbox but the friendship remains). Most people use unfriend when they want distance but not drama, and block when they want a hard stop.
The person you remove will not get a notification that you've done it. On Snapchat, unfriending and blocking happen silently — they'll only notice if they try to message you and see that they can't, or if they look at their friends list and realize you're gone. This matters if you're worried about hurt feelings or confrontation.
Key Takeaways
- Unfriending removes someone from your friends list but lets them still see your public stories and send you messages; blocking prevents them from contacting you or finding your profile at all.
- Snapchat sends no notification when you unfriend or block someone, so they'll only know if they try to reach you or check their friends list.
- You can unfriend someone by opening your friends list, holding down their name, and tapping "Remove Friend," or by blocking them from the same menu.
- Deleting a conversation removes the chat from your inbox but does not remove the person from your friends list or stop them from messaging you again.
- If you block someone and later change your mind, you can unblock them from your blocked list, and they'll be able to message you again.
How to unfriend someone on Snapchat
Open Snapchat and tap the friends icon at the bottom left of the screen (it looks like a person with a plus sign). Scroll through your friends list until you find the person you want to remove. Hold down their name for about two seconds until a menu appears with options.
Tap "Remove Friend" from the menu. The person is now unfriended. They will no longer appear in your friends list, and you won't see their stories in your Stories feed unless their account is public. However, they can still message you, and if you have a public story, they can still view it. If you want to prevent them from messaging you entirely, use the block option instead.
How to block someone on Snapchat
The process starts the same way: open Snapchat, tap the friends icon, find the person, and hold down their name. Instead of tapping "Remove Friend," tap "Block" from the menu. Snapchat will ask you to confirm. Tap "Block" again.
Once blocked, that person cannot message you, add you back as a friend, or see your profile, stories, or Snap Map location. They cannot search for you by username. If they try to message you, they'll see an error saying the message couldn't be sent. Blocking is the strongest option if you need to cut off contact completely. You can unblock someone later by going to Settings, tapping "Blocked," finding their name, and tapping "Unblock."
How to delete a conversation without removing the person
If you want to clear a chat from your inbox but keep the person as a friend, swipe left on their conversation in your chat list. A trash icon will appear. Tap it to delete the conversation. The person remains your friend and can still message you — the conversation just won't show in your inbox until they send you another message.
This is useful if you want to clean up your chat history without the awkwardness of unfriending someone. The deleted conversation is gone from your device, but Snapchat's servers may retain records of it for their own purposes.
What the other person sees when you unfriend or block them
When you unfriend someone, they won't see a notification. If they check their friends list, they'll notice you're no longer there. If they try to message you, the message will send, but you won't receive it — they may see a delay or an error depending on how quickly they try again after you unfriend them.
When you block someone, the experience is more obvious. If they search for your username, your profile won't appear. If they try to open a previous conversation with you, they'll see a message saying the conversation is no longer available. They cannot add you back as a friend unless you unblock them first.
Removing someone from a group chat
Group chats on Snapchat work differently from one-on-one friendships. To remove someone from a group chat, open the group conversation, tap the group name at the top, and look for the list of members. Tap the person you want to remove, and you'll see an option to "Remove from Group." Tap it to confirm.
The removed person will see that they've been taken out of the group, and they won't be able to see new messages. However, they can still see the message history from before they were removed. If the group creator wants to prevent them from rejoining, they may need to change the group settings or block the person entirely.
Privacy and data after you remove someone
Removing someone from Snapchat does not delete the messages you sent them or the messages they sent you from your own device — you have to delete those separately. If you want to remove a conversation, swipe left on it and delete it, but understand that Snapchat stores copies of messages on its servers. Snapchat's privacy policy states that messages are deleted from their servers after they're opened, but unopened messages may be stored longer.
Blocking someone does not erase your message history with them from your phone. If you want a clean break, delete the conversation first, then block them. Keep in mind that if you unblock them later, the conversation history will still be gone from your end, but they may still have their copies of the messages.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will they know I blocked them?
Snapchat doesn't send a notification, but they'll figure it out if they try to message you or search for your profile. If they try to open an old conversation with you, they'll see a message saying it's no longer available, which is a strong signal they've been blocked.
Can I unfriend someone and still see their stories?
Only if their account is public. If their stories are set to friends-only, unfriending them removes your access. You can check their privacy settings by visiting their profile — if you can still see their stories after unfriending, their account is public.
What happens to old messages if I unfriend someone?
The messages stay on your phone. Unfriending doesn't delete your chat history. If you want to remove the conversation from your inbox, swipe left on it and tap the trash icon. The messages will be gone from your device, but Snapchat's servers may keep records.
Can I block someone without unfriending them first?
Yes. Blocking automatically removes them from your friends list, so you don't need to unfriend first. If you block someone, they're unfriended as part of the block.
If I unblock someone, do they get added back as a friend?
No. Unblocking just removes the block — it doesn't restore the friendship. They'll need to send you a friend request again, and you'll need to accept it for them to be back on your friends list.