Mute notifications from individual contacts or group chats

The fastest way to stop notifications from a specific person or group is to mute them directly in the chat. Open Snapchat, find the conversation you want to mute, press and hold on it until a menu appears, then tap Mute. You will see options for how long to mute: you can choose to mute for 8 hours, 24 hours, one week, or indefinitely.

When you mute a chat, you will not see notification badges or hear sounds from that conversation, but the chat itself stays in your inbox. You can still open it and read messages whenever you want — muting only stops the alerts. If you change your mind, press and hold the chat again and select Unmute.

Turn off all Snapchat notifications at the system level

If you want to stop all Snapchat notifications across your phone, you can disable them in your device settings rather than in the app itself. On iPhone, go to Settings > Notifications > Snapchat, then toggle off Allow Notifications. On Android, go to Settings > Apps & notifications > Snapchat > Notifications, then toggle off Show notifications.

This method stops every type of Snapchat alert — messages, friend requests, stories, and app updates. You will not see badges on the Snapchat icon either. The downside is that you will miss all notifications, not just the ones from people you want to mute. This approach works best if you want a complete break from the app rather than selective silence.

Mute notifications for specific notification types

Snapchat lets you control which kinds of alerts you receive without muting entire conversations. Open Snapchat, tap your profile icon in the top left, then tap the gear icon for Settings. Go to Notifications and you will see toggles for different alert types: Messages, Calls, Snaps, Stories, Friend requests, Mentions, and others.

You can turn off notifications for story updates while keeping message alerts on, for example, or disable call notifications while leaving everything else active. This gives you more control than muting an entire chat, since you can stay connected to messages but ignore other activity. Each toggle works independently, so you can customize exactly which types of notifications reach you.

Key Takeaways

  • Press and hold any chat, then tap Mute to stop notifications from that person or group for 8 hours, 24 hours, one week, or forever.
  • You can turn off all Snapchat notifications in your phone's system settings under Notifications, but this stops alerts from everyone.
  • In Snapchat Settings > Notifications, you can disable specific types of alerts like stories or calls while keeping messages on.
  • Muting a chat does not delete it or prevent you from reading messages — it only stops the notification sounds and badges.

Mute notifications without leaving the app

If you want to silence Snapchat temporarily without going into your phone settings, you can use Do Not Disturb mode on your device. On iPhone, swipe down from the top right to open Control Center and tap the moon icon to turn on Do Not Disturb. On Android, swipe down twice from the top to open Quick Settings and tap Do Not Disturb. This silences all app notifications, including Snapchat, until you turn it off.

Do Not Disturb is useful when you need a break from all notifications but do not want to change individual app settings. You can set it to turn on automatically at certain times — for example, during work hours or after 10 p.m. — so you do not have to remember to enable it manually. This is different from muting a specific chat because it affects your entire phone, not just Snapchat.

Understand the difference between muting and blocking

Muting stops notifications but the person can still message you and see that you are online. Blocking prevents someone from contacting you at all and hides your account from them. If you want to stop hearing from someone entirely, blocking is the right choice. If you just want to reduce noise from an active chat, muting is better because the relationship stays intact.

To block someone, go to their profile, tap the three-dot menu, and select Block. They will not be able to send you snaps or messages, and they cannot see your story or your location. You can unblock them later the same way if you change your mind.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will someone know I muted them?

No. When you mute a chat, the other person cannot see that you have done so. They will not receive any notification or indication that their messages are muted on your end. From their perspective, nothing has changed.

Can I mute notifications for just one person in a group chat?

No, you can only mute the entire group conversation. If you want to stop notifications from one person but stay connected to the group, you would need to mute the whole chat and then check it manually when you have time.

What happens to messages while a chat is muted?

Messages still arrive and stay in your inbox. You just will not get a notification sound or badge. The next time you open Snapchat, you will see all the messages that came in while the chat was muted.

Can I set different mute times for different chats?

Yes. Each chat can have its own mute duration. You might mute one person for 8 hours and another for a week. When the mute period ends, notifications turn back on automatically without you having to do anything.