Snapchat Time Sensitive Notifications: How They Work Complete Guide

The Snapchat Time Sensitive Notifications feature is designed to send important alerts that are visible even in your phone’s DND mode. It prioritizes messages and snaps from your close friends or BFFs, so you don’t miss anything important. The feature first arrived in iOS 15 for iPhone, after which Snapchat also added it on May 15, 2023. While some users love it, some people want to turn it off.

If you use an iPhone, you can turn off Time Sensitive Notifications by going to Settings > Notifications > Snapchat. This will only turn off Snapchat notifications in DND mode, while other regular notifications will continue to play. This feature is currently not available for Android users, but they can manually set their preferences by going to Settings > Apps > Snapchat > Notifications. If you want to only receive essential notifications, it’s best to keep this feature on; otherwise, turn it off!

Understanding Snapchat Time Sensitive Notifications

Snapchat Time Sensitive Notifications are alerts that the app considers important enough to break through your DND or Focus mode settings. While regular notifications get silenced, these priority alerts still appear on your lock screen.

Key Features:

Bypass Do Not Disturb: You will see these notifications even if your phone is set to silent.
Temporary Display: They stay on your lock screen for up to 1 hour before disappearing.
Snapchat Decides What’s Important: The app automatically prioritizes certain messages or snaps, usually from close friends.

Snapchat officially rolled out this feature on May 15, 2023. While some users find it helpful, others prefer not to be disturbed at all.

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When Do Time Sensitive Notifications Appear?

Snapchat has not shared exact rules for what triggers a Time Sensitive Notification, but based on user observations, here is what usually qualifies:

Likely Triggers:

Snaps or Messages from Best Friends (BFFs): If someone is in your #1 Best Friend spot, their notifications will appear.
Friend Solar System Contacts: Snapchat’s “Solar System” feature ranks friends based on interaction—those in your inner circle (like “Mercury” or “Venus”) might trigger Time Sensitive alerts.
Urgent Alerts: While rare, Snapchat may prioritize time-sensitive content like streaks about to expire.

What does not count?

Group chats (unless highly active).
Stories or Discover content.
Random friend requests or spam.

Since Snapchat does not let users manually pick which contacts are “Time Sensitive,” the app decides based on your activity.

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How Time Sensitive Notifications Work on iPhone

If you’re an iPhone user, you have probably seen these notifications pop up even in Focus mode. Here is how they function:

How It Works:

Snapchat Flags a Notification as “Important”: The app decides if a message is urgent based on your chat history.
Notification Bypasses DND/Focus Mode: It appears on your lock screen (but does not make a sound).
Disappears After 1 Hour: If you do not check it, the alert vanishes from your lock screen but remains in the app.

Why Does This Happen?

Apple introduced Time Sensitive Notifications in iOS 15 to ensure users do not miss critical alerts (like emergency messages). Snapchat adopted this to keep you updated on your close friends’ activity, even when you are busy.

How to Turn Off Time Sensitive Notifications on iPhone

If you do not want Snapchat to send you notifications during DND mode, you can disable this feature. Here’s how:

Step-by-Step Guide:

Open iPhone Settings.
Tap Notifications
Scroll down and select Snapchat.
Toggle off Time Sensitive Notifications.

What Happens After Turning It Off?

You will only get Snapchat notifications when DND/Focus mode is off.
Regular notifications (when not in DND) remain unchanged.

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Is This Feature Available on Android?

Unfortunately, Time Sensitive Notifications are currently an iOS-only feature. Android users do not have this exact setting, but you can still control notifications manually.

How Android Users Can Manage Notifications:

Go to Settings > Apps > Snapchat > Notifications.
Choose which alerts you want (messages, story replies, etc.).
Disable unnecessary notifications to reduce distractions.

There is no word yet on whether Android will get this feature, but if Apple users like it, Snapchat might expand it in the future.

learn more: Snapchat My Eyes Only to Protect Your Private Snaps and Videos

FAQs About Snapchat Time Sensitive Notifications

No, Snapchat automatically decides based on your interaction history.

No, they appear silently on your lock screen.

No, it only stops notifications from bypassing DND. Regular alerts still work normally.

This is rare, but if Snapchat detects an unusually urgent message (like a repeated snap), it might push it through.

Time Sensitive Notifications: Pros and Cons

Pros of Time Sensitive Notifications	Cons of Time Sensitive Notifications
✔ Helps you avoid missing important snaps from close friends	❌ No control over which contacts trigger them
✔ Useful if you are waiting for urgent messages	❌ Can be distracting if you prefer complete silence in DND mode

Final Thoughts

Snapchat Time Sensitive Notifications are a handy way to stay connected with close friends even when your phone is on silent. While iPhone users can toggle this setting, Android users will have to wait for now.

If you found this guide helpful, check out our article on [What the Green Dot Means on Snapchat](link) for more tips! Got questions? Drop them in the comments below!

Snapchat Time Sensitive Notifications: How They Work Complete Guide