How to Add People on Snapchat

This article explains how to find people on Snapchat and add them to your friends list. The instructions work for Android and iOS users.

What Are the Ways to Add Someone on Snapchat?

There are several methods to add someone on Snapchat which we'll go over in detail below:

• Search by username
• Add them from your phone's contact list
• Scan their Snapcode
• Subscribe to users by finding them on a map

Add People By Username

If you know the person's username, you can add them on Snapchat by searching for it.

1. Tap the search icon at the top of any screen.

2. Type the person's username in the box.

   If you only know the first part of it, you can try a partial search, but you'll likely find that multiple people share most of the same characters of a username.

3. Select Add to the right of the person you want to add. If you don't see them in the list, choose View More to expand the results. You can also tap their profile image and choose Add Friend.

Add People From Your Contacts

Your phone already holds your friends' phone numbers and email addresses, so it's a great way to connect with them on Snapchat, too. You can add someone as a friend this way if their profile includes their number or email, and you have that same information stored in your phone.

1. Go to the Chat, Camera, or Stories tab, and tap the add friend icon at the top.

2. Choose All Contacts.

3. Select Continue, and then follow any prompts to give the app permission to access your contacts. This will sync your contacts with the app.

   You won't see this step if you've previously given Snapchat permission to access your contacts. If so, just skip to the last step below.

4. Search through the list, or browse manually, and tap Add next to anyone you want to add.

   If you don't see someone from your contacts that you know has Snapchat, it might be because they haven't given their app permission to make them findable by their email/number.

Add People By Snapcode

Snapcodes are images resembling QR codes. They are unique for every Snapchat user because they contain each person's username. They can be scanned for an easy way to share contact information.

There are two ways to scan a Snapcode, depending on whether the image is or isn't stored on your phone:

1. Open the Camera tab.
   

2. If the image isn't saved on your phone, point the camera at it, and press-and-hold until the username is identified.

   If the image is saved on your phone, tap the add friend icon at the top, and then tap the Snapcode icon to the right of the search box. Choose the image.

3. Tap Add Friend.

Find Nearby Snapchatters With Snap Map

Although it's not the same as becoming friends, you can also subscribe to people around you that you find on Snap Map. This is a great way to find other users in the same area as you, but it works only if the other user has a Snapchat Public Profile.

1. Open Snap Map from the leftmost tab at the bottom of the app.

2. Browse the map, tapping hotspots or Snapchats you're interested in.

3. Select View Creator.

4. Tap Subscribe to follow updates from that user. You can also see their username here, which you can then search for using the steps above if you want to add that person as a friend.

Why You Can't Add Someone on Snapchat

If after following the above steps, you're unable to add someone as a friend, there are a few possible reasons:

• The account no longer exists. If the user recently deleted their account, the username might appear as if it can be interacted with to the point you can add them as a friend. This is temporary, and the username will disappear after you log out and back in to the app.
• You've been blocked by that user. You can't add someone as a friend if you're on their block list. Here's how to know if someone has blocked you on Snapchat.
• You've reached a limit. Snapchat says the limit to the number of friends you can have is a big number, but it's still possible to reach it. Deleting some of your friends will fix this.