Regular Snapchat users may have noticed a weird “X” icon next to some names on the chat page. But what exactly does this X mean?
Snapchat has a ton of buttons and icons for users to follow — including the cryptic “X” that appears next to certain Snapchat names on the chat screen. On the surface, Snapchat seems like a pretty simple app. You can get photos/videos from friends, send your own photos that you want to share, and see public posts from your Snapchat friends. The Spotlight page has even more to watch—with tons of TikTok-like videos for you to scroll through.
With so much going on on Snapchat, it’s no surprise that people often wonder about the functionality of certain buttons/settings in the app. A good example is the X that often appears next to Snapchat’s name. The Snapchat chat page shows a list of all ongoing chats. If you last received a photo of someone, a camera icon will appear next to their name. If you receive a text message from them, a chat icon will appear. But sometimes the camera and chat icons are replaced with X.
The real meaning behind the gray “X” in Snapchat
As with many parts of Snapchat, the X next to people’s names is not clearly explained. Some names have a camera and chat icon next to them, others have an X and have no instructions on what they mean. Thankfully, the answer is actually quite simple. If you see an X next to your Snapchat name, the person sent you a friend request that you haven’t accepted.
Clicking on the name will bring up two buttons: one ‘ALRIGHT‘ Accept friend request and button ‘report or block‘ allows you to report or block this person. Also, tapping the X next to the name brings up some options directly from the chat page — allowing you to report, block, or remove the chat from the screen. This is all their own! The X next to the Snapchat name is not a bug or a troublesome feature. If you see it, it’s just a reminder that there are pending friend requests that need to be resolved. It would be great if Snapchat made this more clear, but now you know.
What do the icons on the chat screen mean?
In addition to the X icon next to a person’s name, several other icons appear on the chat screen that can confuse Snapchat users. The main thing to remember is that the icons are color-coded, with each color representing a specific type of Snap. Red indicates Snap without sound, purple indicates Snap with sound, and blue indicates a conversation. Color aside, here’s what the various symbols mean.
Solid-colored arrows represent Snaps you’ve sent to friends, while arrows with borders indicate Snaps your friends have opened. Solid squares indicate you have unread chats or Snaps that you haven’t opened, while open squares appear next to Snaps that you view. The screenshot icon is in the form of two overlapping arrows, while the playback icon is represented by an arrow in the form of a circle. Sometimes the icon may be greyed out. A gray arrow may appear next to Sent Chats if the person doesn’t accept your friend request. On the other hand, a square with a gray border means you have pending or expired chats from Snapchat users.
Source: Snapchat