What Does the Hourglass Mean on Snapchat?

Co-authored by Eric McClure

Last Updated: April 15, 2022

Wondering what the ⌛️ (hourglass emoji) next to your friend’s name on Snapchat means? A little lost in all the Snapchat emoji shorthand? We’ve got you covered! In this article, we’ll walk you through what this emoji is trying to tell you, why it has popped up in the first place, and how you can get it to go away if you’d like.

Section 1 of 4:

What does the ⌛️ (hourglass emoji) mean on Snapchat?

The ⌛️ (hourglass emoji) means your snapstreak is about to end. If you and a friend snap each other for 3 days in a row, you two are on a snapstreak! A 🔥 (fire emoji) will appear next to their name on your contact list, alongside a number to indicate how many days your streak has been going (it starts at 3). The ⌛️ (hourglass emoji) is letting you know that your streak is about to end unless you act soon.^{[1]
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- Whether this matters at all is entirely up to you. A lot of good friends feel closer to one another by maintaining a streak, but it’s okay if you let a streak end.^{[2]
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Section 2 of 4:

Why does the ⌛️ (hourglass emoji) show up on Snapchat?

The ⌛️ (hourglass emoji) is there to remind you to keep your snapstreak going. The hourglass appears if haven’t sent a snap to someone recently. Snapstreaks run on a 24-hour cycle, meaning that you have 1 day to keep the streak alive. The timer resets every time you send a snap, so the ⌛️ pops up to let you know that you’re cutting it close and that the streak might run out.

Section 3 of 4:

How long do I have once the ⌛️ (hourglass emoji) appears in Snapchat?

You have 4 hours to keep the streak going once the ⌛️ (hourglass emoji) appears. Snapchat has never officially stated how long you have until the streak disappears, so it’s best to send a snap sooner rather than later if you want the streak to stick around. However, people seem to have narrowed it down and figured out that the hourglass means you have 4 hours left, with the timer starting right when the ⌛️ appears.^{[3]
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- Keep in mind, just because you’re seeing the ⌛️ now doesn’t mean that it didn’t show up an hour or two hours ago when you weren’t looking at the app. Do not wait if you see this emoji and you want to save your streak!

Section 4 of 4:

How do I get rid of the ⌛️ (hourglass emoji) on Snapchat?

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Send a snap to keep the streak going and make the ⌛️ (hourglass emoji) disappear. Literally any snap will refresh the streak. You could fire off a quick selfie, or send a photo of whatever you’re up to at the moment. You can even just take a snapshot of a blank screen and send that!^{[4]
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- Keep in mind, texting someone on Snapchat does not refresh your streak. It has to be a snap.
- If you want to avoid cutting it close in the future you can send a GMS or GNS (good morning snap or good night snap), which refers to a random snap you send either before you go to bed or after you wake up, just to keep the streak going.
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Wait for a few hours to let the streak end and the ⌛️ (hourglass emoji) will go away. If you don’t care about the snapstreak, don’t do anything at all. The ⌛️ will disappear once you fail to send a snap over the next 4 hours or so. Don’t worry. You aren’t in trouble or anything—it just means you haven’t snapped someone for 24 hours. Not the end of the world!
- The 🔥 (fire emoji), which indicates you have a streak going, will also disappear once the streak ends.