Snapchat has no shortage of colored and emoji-based indicators in its ephemeral messaging app. Each of them has a specific meaning and function that can be difficult for a new user to figure out. One such indicator is the green dot that is displayed next to a person’s profile iconIf you’ve always wondered what it’s all about, we’ll explain everything you need to know about the green dot on Snapchat.
What does the green dot mean on Snapchat?
The green dot next to a person’s Snapchat profile icon indicates that that person is currently active on the platform. Snapchat calls this the Activity Indicator and states that it makes it appear as if the The person was recently active in the app.
The company does not specify a specific time period for how long the green dot can be displayed after an active session, but based on the description in the Add Friends screen, we can assume that the indicator is visible on profiles that have been active in the last 24 hours.
The green dot is only visible in the Add Friends screen on the Snapchat app and is not displayed in the chat windoweven if you and your Snapchat friend both use the app.
This means you don’t have to be friends with the person to see their activity tracker, which is a bizarre implementation of this feature. I believe the purpose of the activity tracker is to check if the person you want to add as a friend is active on Snapchat so you can start a conversation with them right away.
Disable the green dot indicator on Snapchat
If you want to protect your privacy and don’t want other Snapchatters to know if you’ve been active recently, you’ll need to disable the green dot activity indicator. Just follow these steps to turn it off.
- Open Snapchat and tap the Profile icon in the upper left corner.
- On the profile page, tap the Gear symbol in the upper right corner.
- Scroll down and select Activity indicator under “Privacy Control”.
- Turn on the Activity indicator Use the switch to deactivate the green dot in your profile.
- Then close the app and restart it for the settings to take effect.
Once you turn the feature off, others will no longer be able to check when you were last active on the Add Friends screen. However, they will still be able to see which users have recently been active on the Add Friends screen if they have not turned off the activity indicator on their Snapchat account.
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Enable Ghost Mode to hide your active location
If you don’t want your friends and other Snapchat users to know your current location in addition to your recent activity, you can also enable the following: Ghost-Modus in the app. When Ghost Mode is enabled, your friends won’t be able to check your location on Snap Map.
- On Snapchat, tap the Location pin icon from the bottom toolbar to launch Snap Map.
- Tap here on the Gear symbol in the upper right corner.
- Turn on the Ghost-Modus switch to the next page.
- Choose the duration you want it to stay on. You can choose between three optionsincluding 3 hours, 24 hours and until power off.
As explained above, the green dot can be helpful when you’re timing the right time to send someone a friend request and start a conversation with them. However, it can be very annoying if you’re flooded with text messages when you go online, in which case it’s best to disable it.
I hope you found this quick guide helpful. If you don’t use Snap Map at all and want to disable it completely, follow the steps outlined in this guide. Let us know in the comments if the green dot helped you start a conversation or if you find it annoying.
