How to Use Snapchat on PC

Take your convos off your smartphone and onto your computer

An image of the Snapchat logo on a computer screen.
by Elise Moreau
Elise Moreau is a digital marketer, web content writer and copywriter. She has covered web trends for Lifewire and previously About.com, since 2011.
Updated September 06, 2019

Snapchat is meant to be used on mobile devices only, but many people have figured out how to use Snapchat on PC, too. Unfortunately, Snapchat seems to make it harder for users to access their accounts from anything but a compatible iOS or Android device.

How Snapchat on a Computer Used to Work

The only way Snapchat could be used on PCs was by downloading an Android emulator. An Android emulator is simply a piece of software you can download to your PC that mimics the Android platform so you can download and use mobile apps from the Google Play Store.

With this emulator installed on your PC, you could use it to download the official Snapchat app. One of the most popular and widely used Android emulators is called BlueStacks.

On May 30, 2019, the following message was posted by the BlueStacks support team:

You may have experienced Snapchat crashes after you login and you are left on the BlueStacks home screen. This is an app-specific behavior unrelated to BlueStacks. The Snapchat development team seems to have banned the use of Snapchat on emulators.

There are also many recent Reddit threads discussing issues with using Snapchat via Android emulators like BlueStacks. This isn't surprising, given that Snapchat has a long history of doing whatever it can to crack down on third-party apps trying to access it.

How to Use Snapchat on Your PC

Snapchat seems to be in the process of banning (or already has banned) use of the app via emulators, leaving no other alternative for successfully using it on PCs. You can try following these instructions anyway to see if it works for you, but you may still experience problems or may not be able to sign into your Snapchat account when you get to the login page.

  1. Navigate to bluestacks.com/download in your preferred web browser on your PC.

  2. Select the green Download to download the BlueStacks installer.

    A screenshot of BlueStacks.com.

    Some users have reported their Snapchat problems began popping up on more recent versions (BlueStacks 3 and 4). You may want to instead try downloading and installing an older version, such as BlueStacks 2, from an app sharing site. Bear in mind this might not make any difference given that Snapchat is banning/has banned use of emulators.

  3. Double-click the .exe file that was downloaded to your PC.

  4. An installation window will appear. Select the blue Install now and wait for the download and extraction to be complete.

    A screenshot of BlueStacks 4.

  5. Once complete, BlueStacks will open automatically. Double-click the Google Play Store app to open it.

    A screenshot of BlueStacks.

  6. Select Sign In and sign into your Google account by entering your email/phone number and password in the given fields.

    A screenshot of BluStacks.

  7. Once signed into your Google account, you'll be taken to the Google Play Store, which looks similar to how it would look on an Android device.

  8. In the search field at the top, type "snapchat" and either hit your Enter key or select the first snapchat option that appears in the drop-down menu.

    A screenshot of BlueStacks.

  9. The official Snapchat app should appear. Select Install to install it.

    A screenshot of BlueStacks.

  10. Once the installation is complete, select Open to open Snapchat.

    A screenshot of BlueStacks.

  11. Snapchat will open in a new tab within BlueStacks, looking similar to how it would on a mobile device. Select Log In to enter your Snapchat username (or email address) and password.

    Two screenshots of Bluestacks.

What to Do If You Can't Log In to SnapChat on PC

If you enter your login details correctly, you might still receive a message stating, "Oops, something went wrong. Please try again later." Don't worry—it's not your account or your account details. It's likely Snapchat is preventing you from accessing your account because it has identified you're trying to sign in from an emulator.

Unfortunately, there's nothing you can do except contact Snapchat support to express your thoughts about why you think users should be able to use Snapchat via emulators like BlueStacks and others.