What Does the Hourglass Mean on Snapchat? Answer's Here!
by Anna Sherry Updated on 2024-04-18 / Update for iPhone Tips
One of the things Snapchat users care the most about is Streaks. By sending and receiving snaps to and from their friends daily, users can build Streaks that showcase how old the friendship is on the platform.
However, while making Streaks with their friends, users do sometimes come across the little "hourglass" emoji right next to the friend's name. Users keep scratching their heads over that Snapchat hourglass. What does the hourglass mean on Snapchat? Why is it there?
If you're one of those confused individuals trying to look for answers, you're at the right place. Read on and you will learn everything you need to know about Snapchat hourglass. Let's dive in.
- Part 1: What Does the Hourglass Emoji Mean on Snapchat?
- Part 2: How Long Does the Hourglass Last on Snapchat?
- Part 3: How to Get Rid of the Hourglass Emoji on Snapchat?
- Other Latest FAQs About Snapchat Hourglass
- Useful Tips: How to Fix Snapchat Notifications Not Working?
Part 1: What Does the Hourglass Emoji Mean on Snapchat?
Snapchat is one of the most popular social media platforms; it engages users to actively send snaps to each other. When both parties send snaps to each other for 3 consecutive days, they build up a "Streak", represented by the "fire" emoji.
As the days' pass and friends keep sending snaps daily, the Streak continues to grow indefinitely. Both the friends have to send a snap to each other within 24 hours to maintain the Streak.
However, if one or both of the friends forget to send a snap within 20 hours, the hourglass emoji appears. Let's say your daily Streak timer starts at noon, then the hourglass emoji will appear at around 8 in the morning. Remember, the hourglass will only appear if both of the two Streaking friends don't send a snap before 8 AM.
Simply put, Snapchat hourglass meaning is: Your Streak is going to end within the next few hours; you and your friend have to send a snap to each other to save it.
Part 2: How Long Does the Hourglass Last on Snapchat?
If you're wondering about Snapchat hourglass time limit, meaning how much time do you have before it disappears and your Streak ends, we have the answer.
The hourglass emoji will stay there for as long as 4 hours until it disappears and your Streak ends automatically.
However, if both the Streaking friends send a snap to each other earlier, the hourglass will disappear and your Streak won't suffer either.
Part 3: How to Get Rid of the Hourglass Emoji on Snapchat?
Still confused about getting rid of the hourglass on Snapchat? Well, there are a few ways to get rid of it.
The first and most obvious way is, of course, to exchange a snap (photo or video) with the friend in question. Send them a snap and ask them to do the same, and the hourglass will disappear automatically and the Streak will continue.
If you don't care about the Streak and just want to get rid of the hourglass, just wait for a few hours and it will go away.
Last but not least, you can also remove the person in question from your Friends' list to get rid of the hourglass. Be noted that doing so will erase your chat with the person, and the contact will disappear from your list.
Latest FAQs About Snapchat Hourglass
Here are some other questions you might have about the hourglass (and their answers).
Q1: How long does it take the hourglass to disappear?
If you and your friend exchange a snap, the hourglass will disappear instantly. However, if you're waiting for the hourglass to disappear on its own, it will take around 4 hours for the Streak to end and the hourglass to disappear.
Q2. Do both the friends see the hourglass?
Yes, they do. The hourglass emoji appears on both sides and both the friends will be able to see it.
Q3. What to do if the hourglass emoji appears despite maintaining the Streak?
The hourglass emoji should disappear as soon as you and your friend exchange a snap. However, if it doesn't, there may be a server-side glitch. The best way to go about the situation is to send a message to Snapchat support and ask them what's going on.
Useful Tips: How to Fix Snapchat Notifications Not Working?
If for any reason, your Snapchat notifications don't appear, you won't be able to tell when your friends share a snap with you. Hence, it will be easy to forget about your Streaks and they might end. In this case, restart your phone, make sure that your Snapchat's notification settings are correct and that "Background App Refresh" for Snapchat is turned on in your iPhone.
If you have done all that and your Snapchat notifications are still not working, you might want to restore your iPhone to refresh the system. Tenorshare ReiBoot is one of the best tools available for that purpose. With the help of ReiBoot, you can repair iOS system problems effortlessly.
Follow the below-mentioned steps:
Download and launch Tenorshare ReiBoot on your computer. Then connect your iPhone to the computer using a USB cable and click on Start.
Choose the "Standard Repair" mode and read the notes on the screen to avoid repairing process failure.
Click "Download" and ReiBoot will automatically download the latest firmware for your iPhone.
After the download is complete, click on "Repair Now" to start the system recovery.
Now your iPhone has been refreshed and Snapchat notifications should work as expected.
The Bottom Line
Snapchat users love to build and maintain Streaks with their friends on the platform. However, when the hourglass emoji appears, many users get confused about what it is. The hourglass emoji means you have less than 4 hours to exchange a snap and maintain your Streak with the friend in question.
As you were looking for the answer to "What does the hourglass on Snapchat mean?", you may also have figured out your Snapchat notifications not working. If that's the case, refresh your iPhone using ReiBoot as mentioned in the previous section.