How Long Does the Hourglass Last on Snapchat?
An hourglass popped next to the streaks that you and your friend have maintained and you are worried about how long does the hourglass last on Snapchat? Then we have brought this article for you!
We all know that Snapchat is very popular when it comes to sending snaps to your friend. One feature that only Snapchat has introduced and the key reason for the increment of its user is the concept of the streak. If you send and receive snaps from a particular user on a daily basis then you can see an appearance of streak next to the name of that user. It shows how long you have been sending snaps to each other.
Even though maintaining streaks is an interesting concept, the problem here is that both of the users must compulsorily send a minimum of one snap every twenty-four hours. If you do not send the snap every day then your streaks will be removed. But Snapchat always awares you about it and an hourglass appears next to the streaks to remind you so as to send a snap.
Quick Summary
An hourglass appears when you or your friend have not sent a snap in twenty-four hours. If you don't send a snap even after the hourglass appears then you will lose the streaks that you have maintained. About the duration of the hourglass, it is not certain because some say that it lasts for about 2-3 hours whereas some say that it appears for 4-7 hours before the disappearance of streaks.
Table of Contents
What does Hourglass mean on Snapchat?
On Snapchat, an hourglass emoji (⌛️) appears next to a friend’s name to indicate that you or your friend have not sent a snap for about twenty-four hours. It usually works as a warning that the snap streak maintained by you and your friend is about to come to an end. Hourglass can be taken as a reminder that you need to quickly send a snap to your friend in order to keep your streaks alive.
As the name indicates, the purpose of an hourglass is to set a time limit. If neither you nor your friend sends a snap within the time limit indicated by the hourglass, the Snapstreak will be broken. The number next to the friend’s name will reset to zero, and the streak icon will disappear. So, basically, hourglass reminds you to send a snap in case you’ve forgotten to do so.
How Long Does the Hourglass Last on Snapchat?
If you don’t want the hourglass to appear then you might always be regular with sending the snap. But sometimes because of certain situations, you might not be able to do so. If that is the case with you as well then you need not worry because the hourglass lasts for a certain amount of time. But the problem is that there is no official statement regarding the duration of the hourglass on Snapchat.
According to some people, the time limit of the hourglass on Snapchat is about two to three hours. They say that after two to three hours of the appearance of the hourglass, the streaks are broken. But some people also state that the hourglass lasts for about four to seven hours. The user state that the duration of the hourglass on Snapchat depends on the number of streaks you have. The more the number of streaks equals the more the duration whereas if you are new and you have a lower number of streaks then the duration will also be low.
How to Avoid the Hourglass on Snapchat?
There are several ways that you may follow in order to avoid the hourglass or extend the duration of the hourglass on Snapchat even if you get one. There is no exact solution to it but there are a few alternatives that somehow help you to deal with this problem. The alternatives have been listed down below.
Send a Snap Instead of Chats
If an hourglass appears and you are still chatting with the person then you may stop doing so and send a snap instead. If you do that the hourglass will disappear. For you to maintain a streak on Snapchat, it is mandatory to send a snap. Even if you chat with the person the entire day it does not count. You must send a photo or video as a snap so as to continue the streaks. So, instead of sending the same old boring text on chat you can modify it and send it as a snap to enhance the conversation as well as maintain the streaks.
Send a Regular Morning Snap
Do you always send your friends a good morning message? Great! Then why not transform it and make it a good morning snap? If you set a habit of sending good morning snaps rather than a simple text then you will never forget to send it. Ultimately, you will never get an hourglass as you will never exceed the time limit of sending a snap. You can always start your day by sending your selfie, outfit of the day, or even a simple snap like a coffee mug which gives a perfect sense to your morning snaps.
Send Snap Just for the Sake of Snap
Even if your life is not as happening as other days or you do not have anything exciting to show to your friends, send snaps just for the sake of snaps. This means you can send meaningless snaps like a blank photo, the snap of a curtain, etc. just to keep your streaks alive. Since sending a snap is necessary rather than the content, send anything you like to avoid the hourglass.
Tell the Other User About the Hourglass
For you to maintain the streaks, you as well as your friend must send a snap everyday. Sometimes even when you send snaps regularly you may see that an hourglass has appeared. In that scenario, it might be that your friend has not sent one. So, here you may inform the other person and tell them to send a snap to avoid the hourglass.
Create a Snap Shortcut
For people with hectic routines, it might be difficult to send snaps to every user. Not only that but sometimes when you are in a hurry you can forget to tap on the name of some users while sending a snap. Whereas someone might feel too lazy to keep tapping on the entire list of people. If you are one of them then the easy way to maintain daily streaks and avoid hourglass is to create a snap shortcut. It helps you to send a snap to all of your friends in a single tap. If you want to know how to create a shortcut then it has been stated below.
How to Create a Snap Shortcut?
All Android, as well as iOS users, may follow the below-mentioned steps to create a shortcut in Snapchat to make your Snapchat experience better.
- Log in to your Snapchat account.
- Click a Snap.
- Tap on the ‘Next‘ option.
- Go to the ‘+‘ icon.
- Head to ‘New Shortcut’.
- Select the name of the users to whom you send snaps daily.
- Tap on the ‘Create Shortcut‘ option.
With this, you will be able to send a snap to a group of people at the same time. Users might confuse themselves for a shortcut with a group but when you create a shortcut, a snap is sent individually and not in a group.
Conclusion
From all of this, it can be concluded that an hourglass appears when your snap with your friend is about to end. It serves as a reminder for the users to send the snap before the streaks disappear. The user doesn’t know the exact duration of Snapchat. But the common understanding is that the duration of the hourglass on Snapchat varies according to the number of streaks you have maintained. Additionally, there are several alternatives that can be used in order to avoid the hourglass and the loss of streaks.
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Does the hourglass appear on both sides?
Yes, both users are able to see the hourglass even if only one user is left to send the snap.
Is the duration of the hourglass on Snapchat the same for both users?
Yes, the duration is the same for both of them.
Can I restore my streaks after it disappears?
You can restore the streaks only when it disappears because of some technical error. For example, if your streak disappears without the appearance of an hourglass then you can restore it by reporting to Snapchat.
Does the hourglass apply to group chats as well?
No, the hourglass does not apply to group chats because streaks can be maintained only in a one-to-one conversation.
