Report Harassment on Snapchat: Save Evidence in Time

Someone keeps sending you suggestive snaps, insults you in chat or pressures you so your streak does not break. The tricky part about Snapchat: snaps and chats often disappear as soon as they are viewed. So if you want to report harassment on Snapchat, you need to be quick. This guide shows how to save evidence, report and block, handle streak pressure, and when harassment becomes a criminal offence in Germany.

Why does evidence disappear so quickly on Snapchat?

• Snaps: photos and videos are usually gone once viewed.
• Chats: in one-on-one chats, messages are deleted after viewing by default. For each person, you can set them to disappear 24 hours after viewing instead.
• Saved messages stay in the chat. But the other person can see that something was saved.
• Your data: Snapchat lets you download your data. Snaps and chats that were already deleted and never saved are often no longer included.

The person harassing you is often counting on exactly that. So save right away, do not wait.

How do you save evidence on Snapchat?

1. Extend the deletion time: in your chat with the person, set messages to be deleted later, e.g. 24 hours after viewing; depending on the version, longer options exist. That gives you time. Note: the change is shown in the chat. If that feels too risky, photograph the text messages with a second device. If you later switch back to “after viewing”, messages you have already seen disappear immediately.
2. Save messages in the chat: long-press a text message and save it. It then stays in the chat.
3. Take screenshots of the chat showing the name, message and time. Snapchat tells the other person that you took a screenshot. You may still do it for your evidence. If the notification scares you, photograph the screen with a second device.
4. Note the username: open the profile and write down the username, not just the display name. Display names are easy to change.
5. Keep a log: date, time and a short description, including snaps you could not save. Write it down straight away while you still remember the details.

Nude images and sexual snaps: do not screenshot, save or forward them. If the person shown is a minor, even if the image comes from someone your own age, you could otherwise commit an offence yourself (§§ 184b, 184c of the German Criminal Code, StGB). Instead, describe what was shown and note the username, date and time. If someone threatens to share images of you, read Sextortion: Help with Blackmail Using Nude Images. Do not pay and do not send anything more.

General tips on screenshots and logs are in our guide to securing evidence of online hate.

How do you report harassment on Snapchat?

• Report a snap or story: press and hold the snap or story. A report option appears at the bottom, often with a flag icon.
• Report a person: in the chat, press and hold the person’s name or open their profile. You find “Report” in the menu. Choose the fitting reason, such as harassment, bullying or sexual content.
• Through the help site: Snapchat’s support section has a form for safety concerns. This also helps if the person has already blocked you and you can no longer find them in the app.

Menu labels may change with updates. Reporting and blocking are not either-or: report first, then block.

In the EU, Snapchat is designated a very large online platform under the Digital Services Act. The DSA requires Snapchat to handle reports of illegal content carefully and to tell you its decision (Art. 16 DSA). If Snapchat rejects your report, you can lodge a free internal complaint (Art. 20 DSA). How that works is explained in Platform Not Responding to Your Report? DSA Complaints.

How can you protect yourself on Snapchat?

• Block: the person can then no longer send you snaps or chats.
• Who can contact you: in the privacy settings you can decide that only friends can contact you.
• Location: check whether you share your location on the Snap Map. In Ghost Mode, others cannot see it.
• Friend suggestions: you can stop being shown to others as a suggested friend.
• For parents: Snapchat offers a Family Center where parents can see who their child is friends with, without reading messages.

What can you do about streak pressure?

A streak counts how many days in a row you have sent each other snaps. For many people it is a game. But some use it as leverage: “If you don’t reply, our streak is gone”, or “Send a photo or we’re done”.

• A streak is a number in an app. You do not owe anyone a snap.
• Nobody is entitled to a photo of you, least of all a revealing one.
• If the pressure turns into a threat, for example to share images or to hurt you, save the messages and get help.
• If an adult messages you, pays you compliments, asks for photos or wants to keep everything secret, these can be warning signs. Read Recognising Cybergrooming: Warning Signs and What to Do.

When is harassment on Snapchat a criminal offence?

Not every annoying message is a crime. The main offences under the German Criminal Code are:

• Insult (§ 185 StGB).
• Threats (§ 241 StGB): for example of violence or of an attack on your sexual self-determination.
• Sending unsolicited pornography (§ 184(1) no. 6 StGB). Sending pornography to under-18s is an offence under § 184(1) no. 1 StGB.
• Humiliating images (§ 201a StGB): if someone passes on an image of you that can seriously damage your reputation.
• Stalking (Nachstellung, § 238 StGB): if someone persistently pursues you, for example with new accounts again and again. Stalking is prosecuted ex officio, meaning even without a request for prosecution.

Whether a specific case is a criminal offence is for the police or a law firm to assess. You can file a criminal complaint (Anzeige) at any police station or online through the online police station (Onlinewache) of your federal state. Include the username, date, time and your notes. For insults, you generally need to file a request for prosecution (Strafantrag) within three months. If you are under 18, your parents or other legal guardians can file it for you.

In acute danger? Call 110. If you want to talk: the Nummer gegen Kummer helpline on 116 111 (Monday to Saturday, 2 to 8 pm, in German), online at juuuport, or the Telefonseelsorge crisis line around the clock on 0800 111 0 111 (in German). Women and girls facing sexual harassment can reach the Violence Against Women Support Hotline around the clock on 116 016, also in many other languages.

Frequently asked questions

Will the other person see that I took a screenshot?

Yes, Snapchat shows it. You may still screenshot messages for evidence. Never screenshot nude images.

Can the police recover deleted snaps?

Do not count on it. Save what you can yourself and write down the rest as precisely as possible.

Is reporting worth it if the snap is already gone?

Yes. You can still report the account and describe what happened. The more precise the username and time, the better.

Do I have to keep a streak going?

No. If someone uses a streak to pressure you, that is a good reason to let it break.

You can also report it through our form. If you say yes, your report goes automatically to a suitable cooperating law firm (Kooperationskanzlei) as soon as one is available. The legal assessment comes from the law firm, not from us. If there is no suitable firm right now, you get an email with other places to turn to straight away. Deadlines keep running: you can always file a request for prosecution (Strafantrag) with the police yourself.