What Does the Lock Mean on Snapchat

Just when you think that you know everything about Snapchat and its features, another thing appears that you have not been so familiar with. In this particular case, it is the lock symbol that confuses many Snapchat users but is still intriguing for them to find out what it means and what it is used for.

If you too are wondering what is all that fuss about the lock icon on Snapchat, stay here to discover everything there is to know about it.

What does the lock on Snapchat narrative mean?

Simply put, the purple lock that you see on someone’s Snapchat story indicates that the story is private and can be only accessed by one person or a small group of friends. The Private Stories feature on Snapchat is a recently added feature to allow users more options to maintain privacy controls by choosing who sees their stories.

When the lock symbol did not exist at all, Snapchat users had to block people in order to prevent them from seeing their stories on this platform.

Bonus: What is Quick Add on Snapchat. Also, if you want to swipe to see someone’s message without opening the app, you can check out how to do the half-swipe on Snapchat - we have a whole post on that as well.

Reasons why people want to post a private story on Snapchat

As mentioned above, it all goes down to the fact that the private story feature allows users to have better privacy control of the audience that sees the content that is shared on their Snapchat profiles.

So, the main reasons why people utilize the lock feature is because:

  • You want to share a snap that is particular to a particular fan base.
  • You want to share some private information about your life with specific people.
  • You want to share a snap with a very close group of friends.
  • You use a Snapchat profile to promote a brand and you have a specific target audience.

Private lock vs. Gray lock on Snapchat Stories

A purple lock around a snap means that the Private Story has not yet been watched. Also, it is a secret history that you can watch but you have not done that yet.

A gray lock around a snap means that Private Story has already been seen by you and Snapchat turns gray as soon as it is viewed. You can rewatch it a couple of times after that but it will still be gray.

Bonus: Check out how to leave a private story on Snapchat.

How many Private stories can you make on Snapchat

Snapchat allows users to make up to three Private Stories on their accounts.

Are users getting notified when a Private story is shared?

No, they are not getting notified. It is just meant for a specific group of people on your list.

Apart from all of these, if you are looking for ways to have more fun on Snapchat, you better check out the best story games on this platform for this year or learn some funny Snapchat Stickers Memes - we have listed a bunch of games that you should definitely try out.

In the end, in case you get tired of using Snapchat but you want to save your Snapchat memories on your desktop before you delete the app, you can totally do it.