Ever noticed little blue arrows or cross arrows on Snapchat after sending a message? Perhaps you’ve wondered whether it means your friend received your message or if they’ve already read it. In this article, we will break down what these various icons mean on Snapchat, so you’ll never be left guessing again.

Table of Content Hide
1 Quick Answer: What Do the Blue Arrows Mean?
2 A Brief Overview of Snapchat’s Delivery Icons
3 The Meaning of Blue Icons on Snapchat
4 Understanding Red Icons on Snapchat
5 What Do Purple Icons Mean?
6 The Meaning of Gray and Green Icons
7 Do unread snaps or chats expire?
8 Conclusion
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Quick Answer: What Do the Blue Arrows Mean?

Snapchat uses different icons to show message delivery status. You might have seen blue arrows, squares, or even crossed blue arrows. A blue arrow icon indicates that you have sent a chat to a friend. The delivery status can be inferred from whether the icon is filled or outlined. On the other hand, a square icon means a friend has texted you. Here, the icon may or may not be filled. Let’s dive into more detail about these icons.

A Brief Overview of Snapchat’s Delivery Icons

Snapchat’s delivery icons help you track the status of the messages you send. These icons appear under the recipient’s name on the chat screen. You’ll notice different icons depending on whether you are the sender or the receiver. The icons come in various shapes (arrow or square) and colors (red, purple, blue, or gray).

The Meaning of Blue Icons on Snapchat

Blue icons are related to text chats between you and your friend. Here’s what the different blue icons mean:

  1. Sent icon (filled blue arrow): This means your friend has received the chat you sent.
  2. Open icon (outlined blue arrow): This indicates that your friend has opened and read the text you sent.
  3. Receipt icon (filled blue square): This icon means you have received a text from a friend.
  4. Viewed icon (outlined blue square): This icon shows up when you have opened and read the message you received.
  5. Screenshot icon (crossed blue arrows): This icon means the recipient of the chat took a screenshot of the conversation.

Understanding Red Icons on Snapchat

Red icons appear in relation to snaps that do not contain sound. Here’s what they signify:

  1. Sent icon (filled red arrow): This icon appears when you’ve sent a snap without sound to a friend.
  2. Open icon (outlined red arrow): This icon shows that the recipient has seen the snap you sent.
  3. Received icon (filled red square): This icon appears when you’ve received a snap from a friend without sound.
  4. Viewed icon (outlined red square): This icon shows that you’ve viewed the snap.
  5. Screenshot icon (crossed red arrows): This icon indicates that a friend took a screenshot of the snap.
  6. Replay Icon (red replay): If a red replay icon appears next to your snap, the recipient has replayed the snap.

What Do Purple Icons Mean?

Purple icons appear when a message contains sound. Here’s the breakdown:

  1. Sent icon (filled purple arrow): This means the recipient received the snap with sound.
  2. Open icon (outlined purple arrow): This icon shows that the recipient has opened the snap with sound.
  3. Received icon (filled purple square): This icon appears when you’ve received a snap with an audio file attached.
  4. Viewing icon (outlined purple square): This icon shows that you’ve viewed the message with audio.
  5. Screenshot icon (crossed purple arrows): This means the recipient took a screenshot of the snap containing audio.
  6. Replay icon (purple replay): The icon indicates that the friend has replayed the sound message.

The Meaning of Gray and Green Icons

Gray icons appear depending on the recipient’s privacy settings, while the green icon is related to cash gifts:

  1. Sent icon (gray arrow): This icon appears if the chat or snap you sent is pending. It might mean the recipient hasn’t accepted your friend request or has blocked you.
  2. Viewed icon (partially filled gray square): This indicates the chat or snap has expired.
  3. Cash gift icon (outlined green arrow): This appears if you’ve sent a cash gift to a friend through Snapchat and they’ve received and opened it.

Do unread snaps or chats expire?

Yes, they do. Unread individual chats or snaps will expire after 30 days, while those sent to a group will expire after 24 hours. Once expired, Snapchat deletes these messages. However, if the groups open or view the messages, Snapchat may delete them within 24 hours.

Conclusion

The various arrows and squares you see on Snapchat are delivery icons that indicate different message statuses. Understanding these icons is important as they can tell you whether someone has read your message, ignored it, taken a screenshot, or even blocked you.