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How to Delete Your Snapchat Account

Completely erasing your Snapchat requires half a dozen clicks and 30 days of waiting. Here's how to get started.

 & Chandra Steele Senior Features Writer

Our team tests, rates, and reviews more than 1,500 products each year to help you make better buying decisions and get more from technology.

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There's never been a better time to ditch Snap. Now that the app's terms of service say that it can use your selfies for AI-generated ads, there's even more reason to leave your snapping days behind.

If you're looking to delete your account, you're just a few steps away from doing so, all of which are below. But before you get started, keep in mind that even though you'll be deleting your account, the implementation is not immediate. Your account will be deactivated for 30 days, which means that no one will be able to contact or interact with you on Snapchat. 30 days after that, your account (including settings, friends, Snaps, Chats, and Stories, as well as device and location data in Snapchat's user database) will be permanently deleted.


Delete Snapchat on iOS

(Credit: Snapchat)

Go to your profile, tap the gear icon, and select Settings. Scroll down to Account Actions and tap Delete Account. You'll get a screen to log in to the Accounts Portal. Select Delete My Account and enter your password. Tap Continue to confirm your choice, and then your account will be set to be deleted.


Delete Snapchat on Android and the Web

(Credit: Snapchat)

Unfortunately, you can't delete your account directly on an Android device. You'll instead have to log in to the accounts portal via a web browser, select Delete My Account, and enter your password. Select Continue to confirm your choice, and then your account will be set to be deleted.

About Our Expert

Chandra Steele

Chandra Steele

Senior Features Writer

My Experience

My title is Senior Features Writer, which is a license to write about absolutely anything if I can connect it to technology (I can). I’ve been at PCMag since 2011 and have covered the surveillance state, vaccination cards, ghost guns, voting, ISIS, art, fashion, film, design, gender bias, and more. You might have seen me on TV talking about these topics or heard me on your commute home on the radio or a podcast. Or maybe you’ve just seen my Bernie meme

I strive to explain topics that you might come across in the news but not fully understand, such as NFTs and meme stocks. I’ve had the pleasure of talking tech with Jeff Goldblum, Ang Lee, and other celebrities who have brought a different perspective to it. I put great care into writing gift guides and am always touched by the notes I get from people who’ve used them to choose presents that have been well-received. Though I love that I get to write about the tech industry every day, it’s touched by gender, racial, and socioeconomic inequality and I try to bring these topics to light. 

Outside of PCMag, I write fiction, poetry, humor, and essays on culture.

My Areas of Expertise

  • Making incomprehensible tech news easy to understand
  • Expanding the boundaries of topics covered in the industry
  • Figuring out tips and tricks in apps and on devices and letting you know about them
  • Putting together gift guides for everyone in your life 

The Technology I Use

All that gadgets is gold for me: my iPhone 11 Pro, my fifth-generation iPad that I use only for streaming videos and music, my iPad mini 4 that I like to take with me whenever I carry a bag that can fit it, and my MacBook Pro. Why are they all different shades of gold, though? What’s going on, Apple? 

None of them quite live up to my two past loves: my LG Lotus LX600 phone and my Sony Walkman NW-E005 MP3 player. 

I've never given up wired earbuds so I was ahead of all those trend pieces. I use a Mangotek Lightning-to-3.5mm headphone jack adapter to connect them to my phone. 

I have had so many ebook readers, but I prefer paper to them all. Still, my Kindle Paperwhite is perfect for traveling or when I’m too impatient to wait for a book to be released in paperback.

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