How to Make a Private Story on Snapchat (and Who Sees It)

Not every Snap is meant for your whole friends list. Maybe it's photos of the kids for close family, a work in progress you only want your team to see, or a sneak peek for your most loyal customers. That's what Snapchat's Private Stories are for: you choose the audience, and everyone else simply doesn't see it.

Here's how to set one up, how to post to it, what your viewers see and what everyone else sees, and how it differs from a Shared Story and your normal My Story. I've based every step on Snapchat's help articles about creating and using Private Stories.

How to make a private story on Snapchat

The help article How to create a Private or Shared Story gives these steps:

1. Open Snapchat and tap your profile icon to go to My Account.
2. If it's your first one, tap New Private Story. If you already have a Private or Shared Story, tap + New Story and choose Private Story.
3. Select the friends you want to be able to view it.
4. Give the Story a name and save it.

Snapchat says you can have up to 20 Private or Shared Stories at once, so you could keep one for family, one for close friends and one for a project without juggling.

Posting a Snap to your Snapchat private story

Once the Private Story exists, you add to it the same way you'd post anywhere else. Create your Snap, then open the Send To screen. Snapchat's help explains that the Stories you can add to sit at the top of that screen, so select your Private Story there and send.

Only you can add Snaps to your Private Story. That's one of the big differences from a Shared Story, where the friends you invite can add their own Snaps too.

Snaps you add last 24 hours, according to Snapchat's article on Shared and Private Stories. After that they expire, just like a normal Story.

What friends see when you post a private story on Snapchat

For the people you've chosen, Snapchat's help article How do Private Stories work? says your Private Story Snaps appear mixed into your My Story. On Android, the two may appear separately. Private Stories carry a padlock icon, which is how you can tell them apart.

For everyone you left off the list, nothing changes. Snapchat says friends who can't view your Private Story aren't notified that it exists. They won't get an alert, and they won't see a locked Story they can't open.

Curious who's watched it? The views list works on Stories in the usual way, and I've covered it in my guide on how to see who viewed your Snapchat Story.

Private story on Snapchat versus My Story and Shared Stories

Snapchat has a few Story types, and it's easy to mix them up. This is how they compare, based on Snapchat's help articles:

Story type	Who can view	Who can add Snaps
Private Story	Only the friends you pick	Only you
Shared Story	You and the friends you choose	You and those friends
My Story with My Friends	Your friends	Only you
My Story with Custom	The audience you set in Settings	Only you
Public Story	Friends, followers and anyone on Snapchat	Only you

If you mainly want to keep one or two people away from everything you post, you might prefer the Custom option for My Story instead. Snapchat puts it under Settings, My Privacy & Data, Who Can See, then View My Story. Snapchat adds that privacy settings apply when you post and stay with that Snap, so changing them later won't affect Snaps already up.

The difference between friends and followers matters for public posting, and my explainer on what followers means on Snapchat clears that up.

Keeping a Snapchat private story private

A Private Story limits who sees your Snaps, but it can't stop those people doing what they like with them. Snapchat's help says it plainly: viewers can always screenshot or screen record, so avoid sharing anything you wouldn't want saved.

• Check the viewer list carefully before you post anything personal.
• Remove anyone who no longer belongs on it, such as an old colleague or an ex.
• Keep anything really sensitive, like your address, passport or bank details, off Snapchat altogether.
• If someone shares your private content to harass you, report it to Snapchat, and if you're in danger, contact the police.

Removing a Snap from your Snapchat private story

Posted something to the wrong Story? You don't have to wait 24 hours for it to disappear. You can delete individual Snaps from a Story at any time from your profile, where Snapchat says you can manage every Story you're part of. My guide on deleting a Snapchat Story or a single Snap walks you through it.

If you can't find the Snapchat private story option

• You're on the Camera screen. Go to My Account by tapping your profile icon first.
• You already have a Story, so the New Private Story button has been replaced by + New Story.
• You've hit the limit of 20 Private or Shared Stories. Delete one you no longer use, then try again.
• Your app is out of date. Update Snapchat, then look again, as menus can vary by app version.

Using a Snapchat private story for a business or creator account

For small business owners and creators, a Private Story is a lovely way to make a small group feel special. Think early product previews for your best customers, behind-the-scenes clips for your team, or a quick update for collaborators before a launch. It keeps those posts off your main Story, so your wider audience sees your polished content while your inner circle gets the extras.

Just remember the screenshot rule. Treat anything you post as something that could travel, and you won't get caught out.

Frequently asked questions

How do I make a private story on Snapchat?

Go to My Account, tap New Private Story, or + New Story if you already have one, choose the friends who can view it, then give it a name.

Do people know if they're not on my Private Story?

No. Snapchat says friends who can't view your Private Story aren't notified that it exists.

Can my friends add Snaps to my Private Story?

No. Only you can add Snaps to a Private Story. If you want friends to add Snaps too, create a Shared Story instead.

How long does a Snapchat Private Story last?

Snapchat says Snaps added to a Private or Shared Story last 24 hours.

How many Private Stories can you have on Snapchat?

Snapchat says you can have up to 20 Private or Shared Stories at once.

Can people screenshot my Private Story?

Yes. Snapchat's help says viewers can always screenshot or screen record, so don't share anything you wouldn't want saved.