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My Snapchat may have been hacked. What do I do?
My Snapchat may have been hacked. What do I do?

Here are the steps you can take to protect yourself in the event of a hack

Jonathan Livneh avatar
Written by Jonathan Livneh
Updated over 2 years ago

If you think your Snapchat account has been hacked, first, ask yourself these two questions:

1) Am I 100% sure I have not forgotten my password?

2) What makes me think I have been hacked?

Some typical signs include:

  • Blocked access— You may be suddenly logged out of your account and can no longer access it as your email, phone number and/or password are different.

  • Security email from Snapchat— You have received an email from [email protected] that someone logged into your account from a different location, IP address, or device.

  • Unusual login activity— You are constantly having to log back into the app, though you never logged out of your device.

  • High data usage— Like longer screen time, a higher-than-usual data usage on the app can signal an account breach.

  • Suspicious behavior— Any odd posts/direct messages/memories in your account that you do not recognize can indicate compromise. This can also be new contacts in your friend list.

    • The best way to review all of your profile information is to download your account data. It will allow you to examine every update or change made to your account, ranging from logins and logouts to search history. You can find your Snapchat data under ⚙️ in My Profile>Settings>My Data. You may be prompted to log back in or verify your account before you can request the report.

If you think you have been hacked but can still access your Snapchat, immediately:

  • Change your account password. Make it strong and unique, and do not share it with anyone.

  • Enable two-factor authentication (2FA). You can do this directly from your account settings. Tap ⚙️ in My Profile to open Settings>Two-Factor Authentication>Continue. You'll be able to finish setting it up from there, using either an authenticator app or SMS verification codes.

💡 Tip: If you already have 2FA activated but you selected SMS verification codes as your backup method, you could switch to a third-party authenticator app instead as the hacker may be able to intercept the code sent to your phone. However, if you use the authenticator app method and lose your phone, you will need to have access to your recovery codes or else you will be unable to enter your account. There are pros and cons to each method.

  • Forget unrecognized linked devices. Remember to sign out of your account if you are not on your primary personal device (i.e. public computers, friend devices, etc.). To forget a device, Tap ⚙️ to go to your settings>Two Factor Authentication>Forget Devices>Tap the ✖️ button for each unknown device > Yes to confirm removal.

  • Verify your email and phone number. Make sure that the phone and email associated with your account are accurate in Snapchat. This helps verify that your account belongs to you in case you ever lose access to it again in the future.

  • Secure your email account. Change your email password so that it is strong and also different from your Snapchat one.

If you have been hacked and can no longer access your Snapchat:

  • Secure your email account. If you lost access because the hacker has changed the password, you must contact your email provider in order to initiate an identification process to recover your account. This step is crucial to re-accessing your Snapchat.

  • Initiate the Snapchat account recovery process. Go to https://support.snapchat.com/en-US and click on "My Account is Hacked." You'll need to fill out a form to get in contact with their support team.

    • Be sure to include an email address that you have access to so that you can receive a response from them.

    • They'll request some extra information to verify your identity (such as your username, when you lost access to your account, location, etc.).

    • Never share your account password or 'My Eyes Only' passcode with anyone — not even Snapchat! You shouldn't be asked for this information, and they don't need it to recover your account.

Things to keep in mind with Snapchat:

  1. You need access to either the email address or phone number linked to your account, otherwise you will not be able to reset your Snapchat password and fully recover your account.

  2. You need to submit a support request if you cannot access your account. It will take around 1-3 business days to get a response to your support ticket.

  3. Do not submit more than one support request, as that will only delay your account recovery. You can try sending a DM to @snapchatsupport on Twitter if you believe your account recovery request has been lost.

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