What Does the Hourglass on Snapchat Mean?

Without a doubt, Snapchat is one of the most popular social media platforms among Gen Z. It’s a fun and interesting way to express yourself through snaps. It also has a fascinating history of becoming what it is today.

Among the app’s unique features are the emojis that show next to your friends’ names. They’re used to showcase your relationship with them.

However, one of them is a little different, and when you see it, you need to know that action is required.

This is the hourglass emoji.

So, what does the hourglass on Snapchat mean?

In this article, we’ll explain exactly that, plus why you need to get rid of it and how to do it. To understand the Snapchat hourglass emoji, we first need to know what streaks are.

Let’s get into it!

What Is a Snapstreak?

Sometimes emojis can be a little hard to understand.

But don’t worry! We’re here to help you!

A lot of users enjoy the app mainly for its Snapstreaks. They indicate how many days in a row you communicate with someone. 

When you and your friends send each other snaps every day, you create a streak. When you’ve done it for at least 3 days in a row, a Snapstreak emoji 🔥 appears. Next to it, you can see numbers representing how many days the streak’s been going on for.

Text messages aren’t included, so if you want to start making streaks, you need to send the other person a photo or a video.

Most people are crazy about streaks. Back in the day, when I was doing them with my friends, I was constantly bragging about how many I had with someone. It was like a friendly competition to see which of my friends would have the most.

Snapstreaks are a funny way to show your dedication to your friends and the desire to communicate with them every single day. 

And getting the hourglass icon on Snapchat is a small disaster.

Let me explain.

What Does The Hourglass On Snapchat Mean? 

Here’s the deal.

When you already know what streaks are, it’s pretty simple from there.

The easiest way to explain the hourglass emoji is that when it appears, it means you’re about to lose your streaks. And you need to move fast.

You can consider the hourglass emoji a warning or a countdown timer on Snapchat.

It’s introduced when both you and your friend haven’t exchanged snaps for almost 24 hours.

So, if you don’t act fast, you’ll lose your progress.

How Long Does The Hourglass Stay On Snapchat?

You’re probably wondering what the Snapchat hourglass length is.

Here’s the answer:

The Snapchat streak timer appears around the 20th hour of no interaction, and you’ll have about 4 hours to do something about it. If you don’t see the emoji right away, you need to be quick since you won’t know how much time is left. 

However, if you don’t care about that and you only want to get rid of the hourglass, then you don’t need to do anything. Just wait a few hours, and it’ll go away.

But does the hourglass appear on both sides? 

Of course! Both users receive a reminder to save their streaks.

If you don’t want to lose them, send a snap, contact your friend, and encourage them to do the same. 

What Can You Do if You Lose Your Streaks?

Sometimes you might lose your streaks, even if both you and the other user did everything right within the Snapchat streak timer limit. This isn’t something that occurs very often, but you still may encounter this issue.

But worry not! Even if that’s the case, we’ll provide a solution.

You need to contact the Snapchat support team, and they’ll help you restore your progress. But only if they conclude that it’s the app’s fault. 

Here are the steps:

1. Type “Snapchat support” on Google. 
2. Click on “My Snapstreak disappeared.” 
   
3. Select “I lost my Snapstreak.”
   
   

When you scroll down, you’ll see a form where you need to fill out the necessary information regarding your issue and submit it. From there, it’s all in the hands of Snapchat’s support reps.

How to Maintain a Snapstreak

In a world where people spend so much time on social media daily, it’s great that Snapstreaks require you to send only one snap every 24 hours.

The easiest way to maintain them is by creating a morning or evening routine. Everyone checks their phone in the morning. And when you send your snap for a morning greeting, you don’t have to worry about it for the rest of the day. And you won’t have to deal with the Snapchat sand timer.

If the streak is more important to you than the actual content you share, you can send a black screen with the fire emoji. You can then tell your friends why you’re doing this, so they won’t be confused when they receive it.

Of course, you need to make sure that the people on the other side are just as dedicated as you to keep the streak going.

But be aware that not all Snapchat interactions count for maintaining a streak. Here are some examples that don’t qualify:

• Memories
• Group chats
• Stories
• Spectacles
• Text and voice messages

Wrap Up 

Now you know what the Snapchat hourglass emoji is and how you can get rid of it. It appears when you’re about to lose your streaks. It’s like a warning. When you get it, you have around 4 hours to save your progress. Make sure to contact your friends and remind them that they also need to send you a snap.