To make a sticker on Snapchat, take or open a photo Snap, tap the scissors icon on the Preview screen and trace around the thing you want with your finger. Lift your finger and it becomes a Cutout sticker you can move, pinch to resize, and reuse later, because Snapchat saves it to your sticker drawer automatically.
There are two other ways in as well: you can build a sticker straight from a photo inside a chat, and you can cut one out of a paused Spotlight video. All three are free. Animated stickers made from your own videos are the one part that needs a Snapchat+ subscription.
Worth knowing before you spend ages on one: your Cutouts are saved to your own sticker drawer. Snapchat's help pages describe them as stickers you can reuse in your Snaps and Chats, and say nothing about them appearing in a friend's drawer. Your friends see the sticker on the Snap you send, but they can't pick it up and use it themselves. If you want a sticker a friend can reuse, make it from a photo and send them the photo so they can cut their own.
Make a Cutout sticker from a photo Snap, step by step
- Open Snapchat and take a photo, or swipe up to Memories and open a saved photo to edit it.
- On the Preview screen, tap the scissors icon in the toolbar on the right.
- Trace around the object with one finger. Go slowly round the edges; a pet, a mug or a face with a clear outline works best.
- Lift your finger. The cutout drops onto your Snap as a sticker.
- Drag it where you want it, pinch to make it bigger or smaller, and twist with two fingers to rotate it.
- Send the Snap or save it. The sticker stays in your drawer for next time.
Good light and a plain background make a big difference. The scissors tool follows your finger, so a busy background just means more careful tracing.
Make a sticker from a photo in Chat
- Open a chat with a friend.
- Tap the sticker icon next to the message box.
- Tap New Sticker.
- Pick a photo, outline what you want, and tap Save Sticker. It goes into your sticker drawer, ready to send.
Cut a sticker out of a Spotlight video
Pause a Spotlight video on the frame you like, tap the scissors button just below the pause button, outline the part you want and save it. If you pause first, you'll get a still sticker of that frame.
Animated stickers from your own videos
Snapchat+ subscribers can open the sticker drawer, start a new sticker and pick a video from Memories or the camera roll. You then choose up to five seconds of the clip, drag the trim window to the right moment, and save it with or without its background. Without a subscription, tapping a video sends you to the Snapchat+ page instead. Check the current terms in the app if you're thinking of signing up.
Where your custom stickers live
Every sticker you make with the scissors goes into your sticker drawer on its own; there's no save button to remember. To find them again:
- On a Snap, tap the sticker icon on the right of the Preview screen to open the drawer.
- Swipe through the category tabs along the top. Your Cutouts have their own tab, usually shown with the scissors symbol.
- In Chat, tap the sticker icon by the message box and you'll see your recent and custom stickers there too.
Snapchat also has Auto Stickers, which suggest stickers made from recent Snaps in your Memories and photos in your camera roll. If you've ever seen a cutout of your own cat appear without making it, that's where it came from.
Removing a sticker you don't want
There are two different jobs here, and people mix them up.
| What you want to remove | How to do it |
|---|---|
| A sticker you've placed on a Snap | Press and hold it, then drag it to the bin icon. Each sticker goes one at a time. |
| A sticker from your recents in Chat | Press and hold it in the drawer and tap Remove from Recents. |
| A Cutout from your drawer for good | Press and hold it in the Cutouts tab and look for a delete or remove option |
Snapchat's help pages don't spell out the last one, and the wording has changed between versions. If a menu name looks different on your phone, search Snapchat Support inside the app for the word sticker.
The sticker types, and how you get each one
| Sticker kind | How you make or find it | Free? |
|---|---|---|
| Cutouts | Scissors icon on a photo Snap, New Sticker in Chat, or the scissors on a paused Spotlight video | Yes |
| Animated video stickers | Sticker drawer, new sticker, choose a video and trim | Snapchat+ only |
| Bitmoji stickers | Bitmoji tab in the sticker drawer once your Bitmoji is linked | Yes |
| GIF stickers | GIF search in the sticker drawer | Yes |
| Info stickers | Time, temperature and location stickers in the drawer | Yes |
| Auto Stickers | Suggested automatically from recent Memories and camera roll photos | Yes |
Any sticker on a Snap can be pinned to a moving object. Press and hold it over the object in a video and it'll move, rotate and resize as the object does, which is handy for putting a hat on a dog that won't sit still.
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Making stickers on iPhone outside Snapchat
If you're on an iPhone, there's another route that often gives a cleaner edge than tracing with your finger. In the Photos app you can lift the subject out of a picture and turn it into a sticker, then paste it into a Snap or a chat. I've covered that in my guide to making a sticker on iPhone.
Instagram has its own version of the same idea, so if you post on both apps, my guide to Instagram cutouts shows how that one works. And if you'd like to go further with photo edits before you add stickers, see editing pictures on Snapchat.
When the scissors don't show up
- You're on a video, not a photo. The Preview scissors work on photo Snaps; for video you need the animated sticker route.
- The app is out of date. Update Snapchat from the App Store or Google Play and try again.
- The toolbar is collapsed. Tap the small arrow at the bottom of the right-side tools to see them all.
What I'd do
Make a handful of Cutouts of things you share a lot, like your pet, your coffee cup or your own face pulling a silly expression, on a day with good light. They'll sit in your drawer ready to drop onto any Snap in a second.
Frequently asked questions
How do you make a sticker on Snapchat?
Take or open a photo Snap, tap the scissors icon on the Preview screen, trace the object with your finger and lift it. The cutout becomes a sticker and saves to your sticker drawer.
Where do my Snapchat Cutouts go?
They save automatically to your sticker drawer. Open the sticker icon on a Snap or in Chat and look for the Cutouts tab.
Can my friends use the stickers I make?
They can see them on Snaps you send, but Snapchat's help pages only describe Cutouts going into your own drawer, so they can't reuse yours.
Can I make a moving sticker on Snapchat?
Yes, if you have Snapchat+. Start a new sticker in the drawer, pick a video and choose up to five seconds of it.
How do I delete a sticker on Snapchat?
On a Snap, press and hold the sticker and drag it to the bin. In Chat recents, press and hold and tap Remove from Recents.
