What Does the Hourglass Mean in Snapchat?

Snapchat has various unique features that encourage user interaction — including emojis that are placed next to usernames to indicate different things.

One emoji that has presented some confusion is the hourglass emoji. What exactly does it mean?

Hourglass emojis, like fire emojis, are related to your Snapchat streak, which measures how often you communicate with specific people on your friends list.

If you aren’t sure what a Snapstreak is and what these emojis represent, read on. This article will explain everything that you need to know about maintaining your Snapstreaks and what different common emojis mean.

What Is a Snapstreak?

If you want to know more about the hourglass emoji, you first need to understand how Snapstreaks work.

When you exchange a snap with another user at least once for at least three consecutive days, you will start a Snapstreak. When that happens, a fire emoji will appear next to that username.

To maintain the streak, you will have to exchange snaps at least once every 24 hours. Note that you both have to send snaps for the streak to continue. This serves as a fun way to encourage users to continue using the app on a regular basis.

You will also see a number next to the fire emoji, displaying the number of days your streak has been going on. If you don’t exchange snaps for 24 hours, the streak will end and the fire emoji will disappear.

What Does the Hourglass Emoji Mean?

To remind you about your 24-hour Snapstreak window coming to an end, Snapchat will display an hourglass emoji next to the fire emoji.

If you don’t react quickly enough when you see this emoji, your streak will end. But how much time do you have?

When the Snapstreak timer reaches the 20^th hour since your last snap exchange, the hourglass icon will appear. This means that you and your friend have around four hours to try and continue the streak before it is gone.

If you want the hourglass emoji to disappear, you can either exchange snaps right away or let your streak end.

What Is the 100 Icon Next to a Snapstreak?

The ‘100’ icon next to someone’s username means that you’ve managed to exchange snaps with that user for one hundred consecutive days. For this admirable dedication, Snapchat will award you with a ‘100’ emoji to celebrate your Snapstreak.

The icon will disappear on your 101st day, regardless of whether you chose to continue the streak or let it end.

How to Maintain a Snapstreak

To keep your streak going, you have to exchange snaps. Of course, not all forms of interaction on Snapchat count as snaps.

Snaps are messages that you make using your camera button. This means that pictures and video recordings count toward your Snapstreak, while text and voice messages do not.

Other interactions that do not count towards the Snapstreak include:

• Snapchat Stories
• Spectacles
• Memories
• Group Chats

What to Do if Your Snapstreak Disappears?

If your Snapstreak disappeared even though both you and your friend sent snaps, an app error may have occurred.

If you believe that your Snapstreak disappeared due to some mistake, you can:

1. Go to the Snapchat Support page.
2. Find the ‘My Snapstreak Disappeared’ option.
3. Fill out the necessary information.

After you’ve done this, you will have to wait a bit until the Support gets back to you and helps you with your issue. Once you receive a message back Snapchat will explain the rules for keeping your Snap Streak.

If you’re positive you and the other person have complied with all guidelines for keeping the streak you can continue to chat with support and earn your fire trophy back.

Final Thoughts

If you don’t notice the hourglass right away, you may have much less than four hours to continue the streak. So contact your friend and try to exchange snaps as fast as possible.

Unfortunately, streaks can disappear due to system errors or busy friends who aren’t maintaining their regular Snapchat activities. However, if you are dedicated to maintaining a long streak, it’s as easy as making sure to exchange snaps at least once per day.