Add Friends on Snapchat

Being friends with other people allows you to send Snaps back and forth and chat with each other. This article will show you several different ways of adding friends to your Snapchat friends list.

10 Second Summary

  • By Username: Swipe down on the screen. Tap "Add Friends", then "Add by Username". More ↓
  • Snapchat URL: Swipe down on the screen. Tap "Add Friends", then "Share Username". Choose how you want to send the link.
  • From Phone: Swipe down on the screen. Tap "My Friends", then "Contacts".
  • Scanning Snapcode: Scan the Snap code, then select "Add Friend".
  • Adding Nearby Friends: Swipe down on the screen. Tap "Add Friends", then "Add Nearby".
  • Adding Friends Back: Swipe down on the screen, then select "Added Me."

Steps

Adding Friends by Username

  1. Find out your friend's username. The main way people add each other in Snapchat is by trading usernames. This allows you to add people that aren't in your phone's contact list. There is no way to add someone to Snapchat using an email address or real name. You'll need to ask the person what their Snapchat username is.
    • Note - Snapchat has two names: Display names and Usernames. The Display name is the name that appears first to other people, and can be changed, but is not used to add someone. The Username is the user's permanent account name. You'll need the Username to add someone.
  2. Swipe down anywhere on the Snapchat camera screen. You'll see your Snapcode, display name, username, and Snapchat score.
  3. Tap "Add Friends." This will open the Add Friends menu.
  4. Tap "Add by Username." This will open the user search.
  5. Type the full username of the person you want to add. You cannot enter a partial username and have Snapchat finish it for you. You must type the entire username to find the person. You can only search by Snapchat username; you cannot search by real name, phone number, email address, or any other name or address.
    • If you want to add someone using a phone number, add them to your phone's address book first then follow the steps in the previous section.
  6. Tap the "+Add" button next to the user. This will add the person to your friends list. This button will only appear if you've typed the person's entire username correctly.
  7. Wait to be added back. The other person may need to add you back before you can start talking to each other and send Snaps back and forth. This depends on the other person's privacy settings.

Using a Snapchat URL

  1. Get a link to your friend's Snapchat profile. Snapchat users can now create a link that will open their Snapchat profile in the Snapchat app when you tap on it. Have your friend send you the link via text or email so that you can tap it.
    • The link will look like https://www.snapchat.com/add/.
  2. Tap the link to open it. You'll need to open the link on your phone that has Snapchat installed. When you tap the link, a Snapchat page will open in your phone's browser.
  3. Tap "Open Snapchat." This will launch the Snapchat app. You may be prompted to select the Snapchat app from a list of apps before it opens.
  4. Tap "Add Friend" in Snapchat. This will add the person to your Snapchat friends list. The person will be notified that you've added them, and they'll need to add you back in order to send Snaps or see their Story.[1]
  5. Share your own Snapchat URL. You can send your Snapchat URL to your friends from your profile screen:
    • Open the Snapchat profile screen by swiping down on the Snapchat camera screen.
    • Tap "Add Friends" and then "Share Username."
    • Select how you want to send the link. You can use your messaging app, or add it to an email. You can also post it to your social media apps by selecting the app you want from the list.

Adding Contacts from Your Phone

  1. Swipe down anywhere on the Snapchat camera screen. This will open your Snapchat profile screen, where you'll see your Snapcode.
    • When you use this method, Snapchat will scan your phone's contact list and find people that have their phone number associated with their Snapchat account. Not everyone who uses Snapchat has a phone number associated with their account. The other users must have enabled this feature on their own Snapchat accounts in order to be matched on your list.
  2. Tap "My Friends" at the bottom of the screen. This will open a new screen with your current Snapchat friends.
  3. Tap the "Contacts" tab. This will display a list of people in your phone's contacts list that have their phone number associated with their Snapchat account.
  4. Give Snapchat access to your device's contacts (if prompted). When you open this tab for the first time, you may be prompted by Snapchat to allow access to your device's contacts. This will allow Snapchat to check which of your contacts have their phone numbers associated with Snapchat profiles.
  5. Scroll through the list and tap "+" or "+Add" to add people to your friends list. The person you add will be added to your friends list, and notified that you've added them. They'll then be able to add you back if they want.[2]
    • Snapchat only matches people based on phone numbers. It does not match by name, email address, or other social media accounts like Twitter or Facebook.
  6. Scroll to the bottom of the list to see contacts that don't have Snapchat. These are all of your contacts that either don't have Snapchat, don't have their phone number associated with their Snapchat account, or don't allow phone number matching for their Snapchat account.
    • You can tap "+Invite" to send them a text with a link to the Snapchat app.
  7. Wait to get added back. You may need to be added back by the person you added to your friends list before you can start communicating. This depends on the other person's privacy settings. Your messages will be stuck "Pending" until you are added back.

Scanning a Friend's Snapcode

  1. Line up a Snapcode in your Snapchat camera. You can scan a Snapcode by simply pointing your Snapchat camera at it.
    • Your snapcode (a unique display of dots) is the yellow box surrounding your profile picture in the shape of a ghost. Simply tap the Snapchat ghost at the top of your screen to pull up your personal snap code.
  2. Press and hold on the code in your Snapchat camera screen. This will scan the code and show the user.
  3. Tap "Add Friend" after scanning. This will add the person to your friends list.[3]
  4. Wait to be added back. You may need to be added back by the other person before you can start sending Snaps back and forth. This may not be necessary if the person allows Snaps from anyone.
  5. Save a picture to your device that contains a Snapcode. Snapchat can scan the pictures on your device and detect any that have a Snapcode on it.
    • Once the picture has been saved to your device or taken with your device's camera, swipe down anywhere on the screen in the Snapchat app.
    • Select "Add Friends" and then tap "Add by Snapcode." You may be prompted to allow Snapchat to access your device's photo storage.
    • Tap the picture that contains the Snapcode. Snapchat will scan the code and give you the "Add Friend" prompt.

Adding a Friend in the Same Room

  1. Swipe down anywhere on the Snapchat camera screen. This will display your Snapcode and profile information.
  2. Tap "Add Friends." This will display the Add Friends menu.
  3. Tap "Add Nearby." Your device will wait to detect other nearby devices.
  4. Instruct your friend to open the same screen on his or her device. Have your friend navigate to the same "Add Nearby" screen. You'll see their username appear in your Add Nearby screen.
  5. Tap "+" or "+Add" next to your friend's username. This will add them to your friends list. Have your friend do the same so that you can both start sending and receiving Snaps from each other.[4]

Adding Back a Friend

  1. Swipe down anywhere on the Snapchat camera screen. This will show your Snapcode and your profile.
  2. Tap "Added Me." This will display users who have recently added you to their own friends list. You'll be notified both for people that you already added to your own friends list, and people that you haven't added before.
    • These notifications disappear after leaving this screen, so if you don't add someone back now, you'll need to look them up later.
  3. Tap "+Add" next to the person that added you. This will add them to your own friends list.

Tips

  • You cannot see other people's friends or Best Friends list. Because of this, you cannot find any mutual friends you might have with someone on Snapchat. You'll need to add each Snapchat friend individually.

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Sources and Citations