Written by MyHow
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Capture a Screenshot of a Snapchat

By this point in time, you should understand that any and everything put online can be made public. This goes for all the major social media channels – Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and even Snapchat. While the messages sent via Snapchat will disappear after a certain amount of time, this does not mean they are gone forever. There are ways to capture a screenshot of a Snapchat.

The reason that this screen capture is possible is mainly because the security used by SnapChat is a bit sub-par. In fact, the method used to do this is considered non-technical, making it able to be done by virtually anyone.

In the past, there was a method that required a number of steps, a computer and quite a bit of technical know-how. However, there is now a method that requires just two actions – for iPhone users:

  2. Open the image in SnapChat prior to it reaching the expiration time.
  3. Take a screenshot of the picture by pressing the power and home buttons. (as of July 2015 you no longer have to keep a finger on the screen).
  4. Double tap the home button to access the application bar. For iPhone users it really is that easy.

Keep in mind, there is now a feature that has been implemented by SnapChat that sends a notification to the picture taker of the screenshot, the good news is, there is a way to bypass this, as well.

This process is a bit more involved, and it is a good idea to try it out on your own SnapChat prior to attempting it with someone elses:

  2. Turn your phone on Airplane mode. This eliminates the internet notification and will prevent a notification from being sent to the other person

    • For Apple devices – swipe up at the bottom of the screen and press the airplane symbol.

    • Android devices – For most, go to ‘Settings,’ scroll down to ‘Wireless and Networks,’ touch ‘more’ and then choose ‘Airplane Mode.’



  3. Confirm SnapChat is offline. This is noted by the red bar at the top of the screen which will read, “Could not refresh. Please try again.”
  4. Open the SnapChat you want to screenshot.
  5. Take the screenshot. This can be done by pressing power and home buttons at the same time (on most devices).
  6. Log out of SnapChat by tapping ‘Settings’ and ‘Log out.’
  7. Close the SnapChat app. Even when you return to the home screen on the phone, SnapChat is running the background. To avoid having a notification sent, it has to be closed completely:

    2. Apple devices – tap the home button twice and swipe to the right or left to close.
    3. Android devices – Press ‘Recent Apps’ at the bottom of the screen and swipe SnapChat to the right.


  8. Turn off Airplane mode.
  9. Open SnapChat – You should not see “Screenshot” when you do this, which means the other person will not know the screenshot has been taken.