What Does the Snapchat Lock Icon Mean?

Snapchat has plenty of features you might not know about if you're new to it, including a certain lock-shaped icon. If you've ever wondered what that little lock icon on Snapchat means, you've come to the right place. In this guide, we'll explain what the lock does and how it's connected to a Snapchat feature. What does the Snapchat lock icon do? What is a Private Story? What are the features of a Private Story? Let's take a look together!

What Does the Snapchat Lock Icon Do? 2023

On Snapchat, this lock icon shows that the story you're seeing is what's known as a Private Story.

What Is a Private Story?

A Private Story is a type of Snapchat story that lets the Snapchatter who posts it restrict its visibility to only a few chosen friends. So if you post a Private Story, you can choose which of your friends can see it. In addition, the only user who can invite other users or add Snaps to the Private Story is the user who first created it.

So if you see a lock icon on a Story, it most likely means one of your Snapchat friends has selected you to view the Private Story they posted. According to Snapchat's help guide, if you post a Private Story, friends who weren't selected to view it won't be notified about it, so they won't know it exists.

In the app, you can post a Private Story by going to your Profile screen and selecting +New Story. Then you'll select New Private Story from the menu that opens and follow the on-screen instructions.

What Are the Features of a Private Story?

A few other details you should know about Private Stories:

• You can create up to 20 Private Stories at a time.
• Private Stories are not the same as Snapchat's My Eyes Only feature: My Eyes Only is a place where users can store and keep Snaps hidden. Essentially, once it's set up, My Eyes Only (and the Snaps you put there) can only be accessed with a passcode. So if you have Snaps in your Memories that you don't want anyone else to see, you can set up My Eyes Only and then send those Snaps there.
• When you want to view Snaps you've stored in My Eyes Only, you'll enter the passcode you created when setting up My Eyes Only. Private Stories, on the other hand, are Snapchat stories that are simply limited to being visible to a specific audience whose members you can choose.