How To Make Friendships Private On Snapchat

Snapchat is great for sending pictures to many people at once, but if you want to restrict who sees your story, you also have the option to make a private story on Snapchat.
Private stories on Snapchat allow you to take more control over who sees your content, and creating them is an easy process — though it does differ slightly from the usual Snap-sending process.
Here's how to make a private story on Snapchat, using either an iPhone or Android phone, and what happens after you post it.
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Social media has a way of mixing up our social groups in a way that isn't always ideal. For example, you may not want to show the same side of yourself to a coworker that you would your lifelong best friend.

Luckily, Snapchat lets you control who sees what.

On Snapchat you can create private stories. That way, only the people you want to see a certain story will be aware that it exists.

Here's what you need to know to create a private story on Snapchat, and what happens after you send it.

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How to make a private story on Snapchat

Creating a private Snapchat story is pretty easy, but it does differ from the typical process of sending a Snap in a few key ways.

Here's how to make a private Snapchat story:

1. Open the Snapchat app and log in, if necessary.

2. Tap your profile icon (or bitmoji, or story thumbnail) in the top-left corner of the screen.

3. Select the button that says "+ Private Story" or "+ Custom Story" in the "Stories" section. Snapchat may ask you to confirm that you want to make a private story — just tap "Private Story" again.

Tap the Private Story or Custom Story button in the Stories section of your userpage.

4. Tap each recipient you want to be able to see your private story.

Pick who you want to share your private story with.

5. Take your photo or video, edit and add stickers or tags, as desired.

6. Hit the send button (it's the paper airplane icon).

Whoever you specify during the posting process will be able to see your public and private stories. Android users will see them separately, while iPhone users will see them mixed together.

And, of course, people who don't make the send list won't know either way that you've created private stories.

Related coverage fromHow To Do Everything: Tech:

How to see your friends list on Snapchat on an iPhone or Android phone
How to enable and use Snapchat filters and lenses on an iPhone or Android phone
How to delete or deactivate your Snapchat account, which you can only do from a desktop browser
How to delete or block friends on Snapchat on an iPhone or Android

Devon Delfino is a Brooklyn-based freelance journalist specializing in personal finance, culture, politics, and identity. Her work has been featured in publications such as The Los Angeles Times, Teen Vogue, Business Insider, and CNBC. Follow her on Twitter at@devondelfino.