You can block people from seeing your story without blocking them entirely
Snapchat gives you three ways to control who sees your story: you can hide it from specific people, change your story settings to show it only to close friends, or block someone entirely. The first option — hiding your story from certain people — is the fastest if you want someone to keep using Snapchat with you but not see what you post. You do this in your story settings, and it takes about 30 seconds.
The other two options are worth knowing about because they solve different problems. If you want to limit your story to a smaller group, you can set it to show only to your close friends list. If you want to stop someone from contacting you or seeing anything you post, blocking them is the right move — but it's more permanent and they'll know something happened when they can't find you.
Key Takeaways
- Open your story, tap the three dots, select "Story Settings," then choose "Custom" to hide your story from specific people by name.
- You can also set your story to show only to "Close Friends" — a list you create yourself — without hiding it from everyone else.
- Blocking someone prevents them from seeing your story, your messages, and your profile, but they may notice you've disappeared from their friends list.
- Hiding your story from someone is invisible to them; they won't know you excluded them unless they ask why they can't see it.
How to hide your story from specific people
Open Snapchat and go to your profile by tapping your avatar in the top left corner. Tap the three dots in the top right to open your settings menu. Scroll down and tap "Story Settings." You'll see three options: "Everyone," "My Friends," and "Custom." Tap "Custom."
A list of your friends will appear. Tap the minus sign next to the name of anyone you want to hide your story from. You can select multiple people. When you're done, tap the back arrow or swipe left to save your changes. Your story will now be hidden from those people, and they won't be notified.
Using Close Friends to limit who sees your story
If you want to show your story to only a small group of people, the Close Friends feature is simpler than hiding from individuals. Go to your profile, tap the three dots, and select "Close Friends." Tap "Add Friends" and select the people you want in this list. You can add or remove people anytime.
Once you've created your Close Friends list, go back to Story Settings and select "Close Friends" instead of "Everyone." Now only the people on that list will see your story. This is useful if you post different stories for different groups — one for family, one for close friends, one for coworkers — though you'd need to change the setting each time you post.
The difference between hiding your story and blocking someone
Hiding your story from someone is one-way: they can still message you, see your profile, and send you snaps. Blocking is more complete — it prevents them from messaging you, seeing your profile, finding you in search, or viewing any of your stories or snaps. Blocking is the right choice if you want to stop contact with someone entirely.
When you block someone, they may figure out what happened because they can no longer find you in their friends list or search results. Hiding your story is invisible — they won't know unless they specifically ask why they can't see your latest post. If you're trying to avoid drama or keep things quiet, hiding is the gentler option.
How to block someone on Snapchat
If you decide to block someone, go to your profile, tap the three dots, and select "Blocked." Tap "Add" and search for the person's username. Tap their name and confirm the block. You can also block someone by opening a conversation with them, tapping their name at the top, scrolling down, and selecting "Block."
Once you block someone, they can't send you messages, call you, or see your story, profile, or snaps. They won't receive a notification that you blocked them, but they'll notice they can't find you or message you. If you change your mind, you can unblock them the same way — go to Blocked, find their name, and tap "Remove."
What happens if someone you've hidden your story from asks about it
If someone notices they can't see your story and asks why, you have a few options. You can tell them the truth — that you wanted to keep that story private. You can say you changed your story settings and didn't realize they were affected. Or you can simply say you didn't post a story that day, though they may have seen it on someone else's phone.
Snapchat doesn't tell people they've been excluded from your story, so they can only know if they actively look for it or if you tell them. If you're hiding your story from someone because you don't want them to see it, it's usually better to be direct about it than to let them find out by accident.
Changing your mind: how to show your story to someone again
If you hide your story from someone and later want them to see it again, go back to Story Settings, tap "Custom," and tap the plus sign next to their name. The change takes effect immediately for future stories. Old stories you posted while they were hidden will still be hidden from them — only new stories will be visible.
If you blocked someone and want to unblock them, go to your profile, tap the three dots, select "Blocked," find their name, and tap "Remove." They'll be able to see your profile and stories again, but they won't be notified that you unblocked them.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can someone tell if I've hidden my story from them?
No. Snapchat doesn't notify people when you hide your story from them. They can only know if they specifically look for your story and notice it's not there, or if you tell them. Most people won't notice unless they're actively checking.
If I hide my story from someone, can they still message me?
Yes. Hiding your story only affects what they can see — it doesn't block messages, calls, or contact. If you want to stop them from messaging you, you need to block them instead.
What's the difference between hiding my story and setting it to "My Friends" only?
"My Friends" hides your story from everyone who isn't on your friends list. Hiding from specific people lets you show your story to most friends but exclude just a few. Use "My Friends" if you want to keep your story private from strangers; use custom hiding if you want to exclude certain friends.
If I block someone, will they know?
Snapchat doesn't send a notification, but they'll figure it out when they can't find you, message you, or see your profile. They may not know immediately, but they'll notice something is wrong if they try to contact you.
Can I hide my story from someone without blocking them?
Yes, that's exactly what the custom story settings do. You can hide your story from specific people while keeping them as friends and staying in contact with them through messages and snaps.