Delete a story you posted today
Open Snapchat and tap your profile icon in the top left corner. Tap "Memories" at the bottom of the screen, then find the story you want to remove under the "Stories" tab. Long-press the story thumbnail until a menu appears, then tap "Delete." The story vanishes when ready from your account and from anyone who was viewing it.
This works whether you posted the story minutes ago or several hours ago. Snapchat stories normally disappear after 24 hours on their own, but deleting manually removes them right away. Once you delete, nobody can view it again — even if they hadn't opened it yet.
Key Takeaways
- You can delete a story you posted by opening Memories, finding the story under the Stories tab, long-pressing it, and tapping Delete.
- Deleted stories disappear when ready from your account and from anyone who was watching, even if they hadn't opened it yet.
- Stories automatically vanish after 24 hours, so deletion is only necessary if you want them gone sooner.
- Once deleted, you cannot recover the story — Snapchat does not offer an undo or recovery option.
- Deleting a story does not affect screenshots or saves that other people already made before you deleted it.
Why you might delete a story before 24 hours pass
You may post something and then change your mind within the same day. Maybe you shared a photo you regret, said something in a caption you want to take back, or straightforward don't want certain people seeing what you posted. Deleting removes it from view faster than waiting for the automatic 24-hour expiration.
Keep in mind that deletion does not erase screenshots or saves that other people made before you deleted. If someone took a screenshot or saved your story to their Memories while it was live, that copy stays on their device. Snapchat notifies you when someone screenshots your story, but by then the damage is done — deletion cannot undo a screenshot someone else already took.
The difference between deleting and hiding
Snapchat offers two separate actions: delete and hide. Delete removes the story from your account entirely. Hide keeps the story on your account but hides it from specific people. You might hide a story if you want to keep it but don't want certain friends seeing it.
To hide a story from specific people, long-press the story in Memories, tap "Hide Story," and then select which friends should not see it. Those people will not be able to view the story, but it remains on your account and visible to everyone else. You can unhide it later by repeating the same steps and removing people from the hidden list.
What happens after you delete
Once you tap Delete, the story is gone from your profile when ready. Anyone who was in the middle of viewing your story will see it disappear. People who hadn't opened it yet will find it no longer available. Snapchat does not send a notification to your friends saying you deleted a story — they straightforward notice it is no longer there.
You cannot recover a deleted story through Snapchat. The app does not have an undo button or a trash folder where deleted stories sit temporarily. If you delete something and then want it back, you would need to re-post it from scratch or find the original photo or video on your phone and upload it again.
Deleting stories on different devices
The steps are the same whether you use Snapchat on an iPhone or Android phone. Open the app, go to your profile, tap Memories, find the story under Stories, long-press it, and tap Delete. Snapchat syncs across devices, so if you delete a story on your phone, it is deleted everywhere — you do not need to delete it separately on a tablet or another phone.
If you use Snapchat on a computer through the web version, you cannot manage stories the same way. The web version of Snapchat is limited and does not include the full Memories feature. You must use the mobile app on a phone to delete stories.
Preventing stories you regret posting
The easiest way to avoid needing to delete is to pause before posting. Snapchat lets you review your story before it goes live. After you add photos or videos to your story, you can view the full story from start to finish before tapping the send button. Take that moment to watch through and make sure everything is something you actually want public.
You can also use Snapchat's privacy settings to control who sees your stories in the first place. In Settings, tap "Who Can..." and adjust who can view your story, send you messages, and see your location. Limiting your story to close friends only means fewer people see it if you do post something you later regret. You can change these settings anytime without affecting stories you already posted.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I delete just one photo or video from my story instead of the whole thing?
No. Snapchat treats a story as one unit. When you delete, the entire story — all photos and videos in it — disappears. You cannot remove individual items from a story that is already posted. If you want to remove one item, you must delete the whole story and re-post without that item.
Will my friends know I deleted my story?
Snapchat does not send a notification saying you deleted a story. Your friends will straightforward notice the story is no longer available when they try to view it. If they already viewed it or took a screenshot, they still have that memory on their device.
What if I delete a story and then want to post it again?
You can re-post the same photo or video by finding it in your phone's camera roll and adding it to a new story. Snapchat will treat it as a fresh story with a new 24-hour timer. The original post date is gone — it will show as posted at the time you re-upload it.
Does deleting a story remove it from my Memories?
Deleting a story from your active story removes it from public view, but it may still appear in your Memories archive depending on how you saved it. If you want to remove it from Memories entirely, you need to delete it separately from the Memories section itself.
Can I schedule a story to delete automatically after a certain time?
No. Snapchat stories automatically disappear after 24 hours, and you cannot change that timer. If you want a story gone sooner, you must delete it manually. You cannot set a custom expiration time shorter than 24 hours.