Quick Add lets other Snapchat users find and add you based on your phone contacts and mutual friends
Quick Add is a Snapchat feature that shows your profile to other users who have your phone number in their contacts, or who share mutual friends with you. When you turn it off, you become invisible to the Quick Add suggestions that appear on other people's screens. This gives you control over who can discover your account through the app's recommendation system.
The feature is on by default when you create a Snapchat account. If you want to limit how easily strangers can find you, or if you are concerned about people from your past contacting you, turning off Quick Add is a straightforward privacy step.
Key Takeaways
- Quick Add shows your profile to people who have your number saved or share mutual friends with you, and it is turned on by default.
- You can turn off Quick Add in Settings under the "Who Can..." section, and the change takes effect when ready.
- Turning off Quick Add does not remove people who already added you, and it does not hide you from people who search for your username directly.
- If you turn Quick Add back on later, you will appear in suggestions again for people who meet the criteria.
How to turn off Quick Add in the Snapchat app
Open Snapchat and tap your profile icon in the top left corner. This takes you to your profile page. From there, tap the gear icon in the top right to open Settings.
In Settings, scroll down and tap "Who Can..." — this section controls who can contact you and discover your account. Look for the option that says "Quick Add" and tap it. You will see a toggle switch. Tap the toggle to turn it off. The switch will turn gray, indicating that Quick Add is now disabled.
Once you turn it off, you will no longer appear in other users' Quick Add suggestions. The change is when ready and does not require you to restart the app or log out.
What happens when you turn off Quick Add
When Quick Add is off, people who have your phone number saved will not see your profile in their Quick Add feed. The same applies to people who share mutual friends with you — they will not see a suggestion to add you. This reduces the number of ways strangers can discover your account through Snapchat's built-in recommendation system.
However, turning off Quick Add does not erase your account or make you completely hidden. People can still find you if they search for your username directly, and anyone who already added you before you turned off Quick Add will remain on your friends list. Your existing friends can still message you and see your stories if your privacy settings allow it.
Other privacy settings that work with Quick Add
Snapchat has several other "Who Can..." options that work alongside Quick Add to control your visibility. You can also set who can contact you, who can view your story, and who can see your location. These settings are all in the same section as Quick Add.
If you want maximum privacy, you can set "Contact Me" to "Friends Only" so that only people already on your friends list can send you messages. You can also set "View My Story" to "Friends Only" or "Custom" if you want to limit who sees your posts. These settings are independent of Quick Add, so you can adjust them separately based on what level of privacy you want.
When you might want to turn off Quick Add
Some people turn off Quick Add because they do not want their profile suggested to people they know in real life but have not added on Snapchat. Others turn it off for privacy reasons — if you share your phone number with many people or businesses, Quick Add can make your account visible to a wider circle than you intend.
If you are concerned about contact from people you have lost touch with, or if you prefer to control exactly who can find you, turning off Quick Add is a straightforward way to reduce unsolicited friend requests. It is also useful if you use Snapchat for a specific group of people and do not want your profile appearing in suggestions to acquaintances or colleagues.
Turning Quick Add back on if you change your mind
If you decide later that you want to turn Quick Add back on, the process is identical to turning it off. Go to your profile, open Settings, tap "Who Can...", select "Quick Add", and toggle it back on. Your profile will then appear in Quick Add suggestions again for people who have your number or share mutual friends.
There is no waiting period or confirmation required — the change takes effect when ready. You can turn it on and off as many times as you want without any penalty or loss of your account data.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will people know I turned off Quick Add?
No. Snapchat does not notify users when you change your privacy settings. People will straightforward stop seeing your profile in their Quick Add feed, but they will not receive a message saying you disabled the feature.
If I turn off Quick Add, will my friends still be able to message me?
Yes. Turning off Quick Add only affects new discovery through the Quick Add system. People who are already your friends can still message you normally, and your existing friendships are not affected.
Can someone still find me on Snapchat if Quick Add is off?
Yes. People can still find you by searching your username directly. Quick Add only controls whether you appear in the app's automatic suggestions. If someone knows your username, they can add you regardless of your Quick Add setting.
Does turning off Quick Add hide my story from everyone?
No. Quick Add and story visibility are separate settings. Turning off Quick Add does not change who can see your story. You control story visibility through the "View My Story" setting in the same "Who Can..." section.