What Does the X Mean on Snapchat?

Few instant messaging apps are truly as instant as Snapchat. Having been active since September 2011, folks still make use of the messaging platform as a way to send pictures and messages to their friends that only last for a little while before disappearing. It essentially prompted other platforms like Instagram to implement their own temporary content in the form of Stories and remains a popular app to this day.

Yet for all the bells and whistles that have been added to or even removed from the app over the years, folks still have some burning questions over how the app works. For instance, many are curious about the X that can sometimes appear in the app. Here’s what you should know if you ever see it on yours.

Like many social media apps, you can have a shortlist of friends with whom you can quickly strike up a conversation on Snapchat. To that end, friend requests are incredibly common.

However, you may see a strange X next to someone’s name where a camera icon ought to be. While it’s not an immediate cause for concern, it can indicate a couple of different things.

In general, the X usually signifies that between two people on the app, one of you has sent a friend request that the other has yet to accept. If you decide to accept the request, the X should disappear.

However, if the X appears next to someone’s name with whom you’ve chatted before, it may mean that they have unfriended you.

Hopefully, the latter doesn’t happen to you. But in any case, an X in Snapchat has to do with your interactions with your friends and can usually be removed by ensuring your friends’ list is up to date.