How to delete your Snapchat account

Snapchat has long made a name for itself among other popular instant messengers. Its biggest draw? Pictures, videos, and stories that you send or receive from contacts are only available for a few seconds and are deleted immediately after viewing. These so-called “snaps” can also be edited with various filters, stickers, and effects. How could you not like the app? Maybe it’s because you aren’t satisfied with its lacklustre data protection or because you’ve outgrown their younger target group. Maybe your hoped-for Snapchat fame didn’t work out, and you’ve lost interest in the app.

If you want to remove your account again, it is not enough to just delete Snapchat. As with other apps, your personal data will remain stored on the operator’s servers even if the small yellow ghost icon has disappeared from your smartphone. As with many other services of this nature, the actual function for deleting your account is hard to find – after all, the provider is reluctant to lose users. Depending on the individual case, it may even be sufficient to deactivate your Snapchat account temporarily instead of deleting it completely. We offer detailed, step-by-step instructions for both.

Deactivate Snapchat and delete Snapchat account

If you want to log out of Snapchat, this always happens in two steps: First, the user profile is deactivated for 30 days until it is finally deleted from Snapchat. You can also deactivate a Snapchat account using the delete function. If you know the app well, you’ll already know that you can’t find this function in the Android or iOS version. Instead, you need to use your web browser, which works as follows:

  1. Go to accounts.snapchat.com in your browser.
  2. Log in with your Snapchat account.
  3. Click on the “Delete my account” option in the next window.
  4. Confirm your decision by entering your login data again.
  5. A message indicates that your Snapchat account has been successfully deactivated and you will shortly receive a confirmation email. You will also be notified that your account will be deleted within 30 days of deactivation. Until then, you can reactivate your Snapchat account and restore all data at any time. All you have to do is log into Snapchat with your access data.
Delete your Snapchat account URL window
By entering the address “accounts.snapchat.com/” in your web browser, you will be taken directly to the delete option.

The alternative, albeit more cumbersome solution is to navigate directly into the support area through the Snapchat homepage or the app settings (gear symbol in your profile). Then click on “Account details” under the menu item “My Account & Security” and then on “Delete My Account.” There you will again find all important information on deactivating and/or deleting your Snapchat account. A link to the “Accounts Portal” leads to the URL “accounts.snapchat.com”. From there, follow the step-by-step instructions described above.

Delete your Snapchat account URL window on the app
The longer way to delete your Snapchat account is through the menu item “Support” in the app settings.
Tip

If wou want to delete your TikTok account, visit our step-by-step guide. 

Delete your Snapchat account URL window on the web browser
Alternatively, you can also access the support area through the Snapchat homepage.

If you allow the 30 days to elapse without reactivating your account, it will be permanently deleted. This means that all your contacts and any snaps you may have stored in the app’s archive will also be irrevocably deleted. In addition, your Snapchat name will become available again so that other users may be able to maintain their own account under your name. For these reasons, the step of deleting your account should be considered carefully. In case of doubt, the first step is to deactivate your Snapchat account. If you still don’t feel like resuming your snapchat activities, your account will automatically disappear after 30 days.

Logging out of Snapchat: How do I back up my snaps?

Snapchat’s success story is based on the fact that sent pictures, videos, and stories are only visible to the recipient for a short time and are then completely deleted. This offers more security for your own privacy and also allows various freedoms and creative uses.

Since mid-2016, however, Snapchat has had a new function called “Memories.” This function allows you to store snapshots and stories you have created in an app-internal archive and to manage them from there. With the option “My eyes only” it is also possible to protect them with a PIN. You can also configure the reminder function so that your pictures and videos are stored in your internal photo gallery on your smartphone. This works as follows:

  1. Click on your Snapchat profile in the app and then on the gear symbol in the upper-right corner to access the settings
  2. Scroll down and click on “Memories”
  3. Here, click “Save” on “Save in…”
  4. Now you can choose between the storage options “Memories,” “Memories and recordings,” or “Only in recordings”
Saving images and videos using the Memories function.
Snapchat offers a factory way to save your own snaps to the internal smartphone memory.

So, while it is possible to back up your snaps before deleting your Snapchat account, this kind of function doesn’t exist for third-party apps. This is due to the inherent transience of the app. Dedicated third-party apps, which can be found in abundance in the app store and on Google Play, can help. Since a large data leak in October 2014, however, Snapchat is trying to remove applications like “Snap-Hack” from the store offerings at regular intervals. The basic rule is: Use at your own risk. Most third-party apps quickly turn out to be fraudulent, and in the worst case you risk having your Snapchat account blocked by using them.

Of course, you can also use the short time before an image disappears to take an awkward screenshot of it. However, this has the disadvantage that your contact will be informed about it. By using a common recorder app (for example, the Apowersoft Screen Recorder on Android), you can secretly record videos from your smartphone screen. Since processed data is also temporarily stored in your phone’s cache, certain apps and applications even allow you to restore deleted images and videos.

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