Mute notifications for one person or group chat

Open Snapchat and go to the chat list. Press and hold the conversation you want to mute, then tap Mute notifications. A bell with a slash through it appears next to that chat name. You will still see new messages when you open the app, but your phone will not buzz, vibrate, or play a sound when they arrive.

This works for one-on-one chats and group chats separately. You can mute your best friend's messages while keeping notifications on for your family group, or the reverse. Each conversation has its own mute setting.

Mute all Snapchat notifications at once

Go to your profile (tap the ghost icon or your profile picture), then tap the gear icon for Settings. Scroll down and tap Notifications. You will see toggles for different notification types: Messages, Stories, Snaps, Friend Requests, and others. Turn off any toggle to stop getting notifications for that type of activity across the whole app.

If you turn off Messages, for example, you will not get notifications when anyone sends you a chat — but the messages will still arrive and wait in your inbox. You can also turn off notifications for Stories, Snap Map activity, or friend suggestions without affecting your ability to use the app normally.

Key Takeaways

  • Muting a single conversation stops notifications from that chat only, and takes two taps from the chat list.
  • Turning off notification types in Settings silences all messages, stories, or friend requests app-wide, not just from one person.
  • Muting a chat or turning off a notification type does not delete messages or prevent you from seeing them when you open the app.
  • You can mute some conversations while keeping notifications on for others, so urgent chats can still reach you.

Mute notifications on Android vs. iPhone

The steps are the same on both Android and iPhone. Open Snapchat, find the conversation, press and hold it, and select Mute notifications. The bell icon appears the same way on both platforms. Settings are also in the same place: profile picture, gear icon, then Notifications.

If you want to silence Snapchat notifications system-wide — meaning your phone will not notify you from any app — that is a phone-level setting, not a Snapchat setting. On iPhone, go to Settings > Notifications > Snapchat and turn off Allow Notifications. On Android, go to Settings > Apps > Snapchat > Notifications and toggle off Show notifications. This is different from muting inside Snapchat and will silence all app activity.

Unmute a conversation when you need to hear from someone again

Open the chat list, press and hold the muted conversation (it still has the bell-with-slash icon), and tap Unmute notifications. The icon disappears and you will start getting notifications from that chat again.

You can unmute and mute the same conversation as many times as you want. Some people mute group chats during work hours and unmute them in the evening, or mute a friend's chat when they know that person is going to send a lot of messages at once.

Mute notifications for Stories without muting chats

If you want to stop seeing Story notifications but keep getting chat notifications, go to Settings > Notifications and turn off the Stories toggle. This silences alerts when friends post to their Stories, but messages will still notify you normally.

You can also mute Stories from a specific person without muting their chats. Go to their profile, tap the three dots, and select Mute Story. Their Stories will not appear in your feed and you will not get notifications about them, but you can still message them and receive their messages as usual.

Why notifications might still come through when muted

If you muted a chat but still see notifications, check whether your phone's Do Not Disturb or Focus mode is off. Snapchat respects your phone's system settings. If Do Not Disturb is on, no app notifications will come through, even if you did not mute them in Snapchat.

Also check that you actually tapped Mute notifications and not something else. The bell-with-slash icon should appear next to the chat name. If it is not there, the mute did not take. Press and hold the chat again and confirm you see the Mute option highlighted or selected.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will people know I muted their chat?

No. Muting a conversation is private. The person will not see any indicator that you muted them, and their messages will arrive normally — you just will not get a notification. They cannot tell the difference between you ignoring a notification and you not getting one at all.

Can I mute notifications for a specific time of day?

Snapchat does not have a built-in scheduling feature for muting. However, your phone's Focus modes (iPhone) or Do Not Disturb (Android) can silence all notifications during set hours. You can also manually mute and unmute conversations as needed, or turn off notification types in Snapchat Settings and turn them back on when you want them.

What happens to messages in a muted chat?

Messages arrive and stay in your inbox normally. Muting only stops the notification sound, vibration, or alert — it does not delete messages or prevent them from being delivered. When you open the app, you will see all new messages in that chat, muted or not.

Can I mute group chats?

Yes. Press and hold a group chat the same way you would a one-on-one chat and tap Mute notifications. The mute applies only to that group, so you can mute a work group chat while keeping notifications on for your friends group.