Let’s admit …the situation is by no means pleasant when you can’t use the app of your choice, right! 

Although WhatsApp and Instagram users are probably more familiar with server problems that make using these apps less than favorable, but, if you’re a Snapchat user, it might be new for you to experience that Snapchat too has started suffering from the same server problems.

Out of all, its most common annoyance involves the issue of being locked out of a Snapchat account. 

In this regard, let us tell you that just a few months ago thousands of Snapchat users started receiving messages that their account has been temporarily /permanently locked.

Guess what!

This scenario caused outrage on social media as several users claimed that their Snapchat account was permanently locked for no reason and they have no clue as to what they did wrong that led to such severe punishment.

So, let’s ask you –

“Is your Snapchat account allegedly locked?”

Of course, yes! That’s why you are reading this post here… However, even if you don’t know, you can easily figure it out!

How to Identify a Locked Snapchat Account?

Well, if your account is locked, you won’t be able to log in to it. Instead, when you try to log in to your Snapchat account, you’ll receive a message like “Your account has been temporarily locked”.

To be precise, you’ll get this full error message from Snapchat— “Oh no! Your account has been temporarily locked. For details on why this might have happened, visit https://www.snapchat.com/locked”.

For What Snapchat Account Gets Locked?

When you go to the above link, you’ll get to see the reason why your Snapchat account is locked. However, you will notice that there is no guidance given on how you can unlock your Snapchat account, rather it just tells you that Snapchat has detected some unusual/ unethical activity from your account that violates Snapchat’s Terms of Service | Community Guidelines.  

That means, if your account seems to be compromised or if you knowingly or unknowingly break the rules set up by Snapchat then, the platform may lock your account either temporarily, permanently or even for a certain period of time.

How to Verify the Category of a Locked Snapchat Account?

While some accounts get temporarily locked, some get permanently locked and others get locked due to being compromised so, if you want to verify the category of your locked Snapchat account then, luckily it is not difficult to confirm the same.

That being said, you can read on to find out which of the categories discussed below pertain to your locked Snapchat account—

  • Category 1: Temporarily Locked Snapchat Account

As said above also, if you see a message stating “your Snapchat account has been locked temporarily so, please wait and try logging after some time” or this complete error message, “Oh No! Your account has been temporarily locked. For details on why this might have happened, please visit https://www.snapchat.com/locked” while logging then, it means you’re temporarily locked out of your account.

[Note: If your Snapchat account is temporarily locked then, you shouldn’t be worried since you’ll just have to wait for 24 to 48 hours to again continue using Snapchat normally.]

  • Category 2: Compromised Snapchat Account Locked

During when you attempt to log in to your account, if you see this message “Contact our support team here to fill out the form and we will get in touch with you via email” then, what it simply indicates is that security of your account have been compromised and thus, Snapchat has locked it out.

  • Category 3: Permanently Locked Snapchat Account

On the Snapchat login page while you’re trying to log in to your account if you receive a message saying that “Snapchat support team will not be able to unlock it for you” then, it means your account has been permanently locked by Snapchat. 

What Causes a Snapchat Account to Be Locked?

Although, it is currently unclear what exactly the platform determines when it decides to lock an account on a temporary or permanent basis. But, as per Snapchat only, an account can gets temporarily or permanently locked for any of the following 5 main reasons—

  • Posting a public Snapchat story that contains nudity, abusive content, bullying, or posts of a graphic violent or sexual nature. 
  • Sending unsolicited photos, videos, or messages to others.
  • Using third-party apps, plugins, or tweaks that weren’t authorized by Snapchat such as Phantom, Sneakaboo, SnapTools, SCOthman, and Emulator etc.
  • Behaving in an abusive way on the platform or sending spam messages.
  • Making use of third-party bots to take over your Snapchat account to take automated actions on your behalf.
  • Sending large numbers of friend requests for adding too many friends without verifying your phone number and email address.

Additionally, the reason for a locked Snapchat account can also be one of them—

  •  If Snapchat detects an unusual login attempt from an unknown/new device or location then, the platform labeled the account as compromised and can initiate a protective block on the same.
  • If the username of your account is being reported (3 times) by other Snapchat users for breaking the rules in the End-user License Agreements (EULA).

However, maybe you weren’t guilty of any wrong-doing and still, if Snapchat has falsely detected you as the culprit for either of the aforementioned reasons and in the outcome of that has locked your account then, in that case what you’re supposed to is what we’ve explained underneath.

So, continue reading to get answer for your ultimate query—

What-To-Do in the First Place When Your Snapchat Account Gets Locked? 

Now that you know your Snapchat account is locked and in which category and for what sorts of reasons right… so; time has come to try the following below-listed fixes to ‘Unlock a Locked Snapchat Account’—

  • Fix 1: This is probably the easiest fix of one as all you’ve to do is try to log out of your Snapchat account and log back in to see if that gets you back to maintaining your Snap-Streak game.
  • Fix 2: You can simply force close your Snapchat app and then, go to the App Store or Google Play Store. There, you need to search for Snapchat to update the app as updating it to its latest version can help to unlock your locked account.
  • Fix 3: As per this fix, you can try clearing the cache for your Snapchat application and then, you can consider logging back in. 
  • Fix 4: Next, you can also perform a hard reset of your respective Android or iPhone to eliminate any glitch as being a potential cause due to which you’re unable to get access to your Snapchat account.
  • Fix 5: Last but not least, you could try uninstalling/deleting your Snapchat app entirely to re-downloading it again as this will help you clear the app’s cache which in turn, will itself fix many issues.

How to Get Your Snapchat Account Unlocked Based on Your Locked Account Category?

While the aforementioned fixes will usually do the trick but, if they aren’t helpful in your case and you’re still getting a message that your account’s been locked, then consider the below-discussed methods to get your Temporarily | Permanently | Compromised Snapchat account unlocked:

Unlock a Temporarily Locked Snapchat Account

In case your Snapchat account is temporarily locked then, follow the below-given steps of either of the listed two options—

Option 1: Use the Unlock Snapchat Account Page 

  • Step 1: Open web browser of your choice and using that visit this “https://accounts.snapchat.com/accounts/unlock” link to open the ‘Unlock Snapchat Account Page.’
  • Step 2: There on the unlock Snapchat account page, you’ve to enter ‘Username or Email’ that is associated with your Snapchat account.
  • Step 3: After that, you also have to enter your Snapchat account’s ‘Password’ in the desired place.
  • Step 4: Upon entering your user-details, you need to tick the ‘I’m not a robot’ checkbox for the simple purpose of verifying your identity.
  • Step 5: Once done, move onto clicking the ‘Log-in’ button.
  • Step 6: In continuation to that, just select the ‘Unlock’ option to hopefully get access to your account. 

[Note: You can try logging back to your account via the Snapchat app also.]

In regard to this, it is worth mentioning that, you will see a confirmation message that “your Snapchat account is now unlocked” only on one condition and i.e., if the duration of ban time that passes is sufficient. This means, if the time that passes isn’t enough then, you’ll have to try again after some time.

[Important Fact: Albeit, it is possible to use this website on any of your devices be it computer, tablet or phone to unlock your temporarily locked Snapchat account just when a few hours pass since your account gets locked. But, if your account was locked for some serious offenses then, you may have to wait up to a total of 24 hours.]

Option 2: Contact the Snapchat Customer Support Team

In case the aforementioned option doesn’t work in your case and you’re unable to get back into your Snapchat account after 24 hours, you can consider executing steps of this way out—

  • Step 1: To contact Snapchat for getting your account unlocked, first head towards this “https://support.snapchat.com/en-US/i-need-help” link.
  • Step 2: On reaching the Snapchat Customer support page, you’ve to simply click on the ‘I can’t access my account’ option which is located below “What can we help you with?”
  • Step 3: Upon doing so, you’ll see another set of options under “Oh No! Tell us more” section. From them, you just have to select the ‘I think my account was hacked’ option. 
  • Step 4: Following that, you need to click on the ‘Yes’ button for “Need Help with something else?” option which is located at the bottom of the page. 
  • Step 5: Now as soon as you do so, a ‘Form’ will appear on the screen and the same you’ll have to complete via entering your username, email, and phone number details.
  • Step 6: In addition to entering these basic details of yours, you also need to ‘Type an email message’ not just to explain to Snapchat Customer Support why your account was locked but also to assure them that you’ll follow the Snapchat’s terms of service more strictly.
  • Step 7:  Now, when you’re done with that, just click on the ‘Send’ button to finally send your mail to the Snapchat Customer Support Team to convince them to unlock your account. 

Unlock a Compromised Snapchat Locked Account

If you belong to the category in which Snapchat locked an account for suspecting that its security may have been compromised then, follow these steps to get back your compromised Snapchat locked account—

  • Step 3: As you do so, Snapchat will ask you to contact support  and for that, you’ve to fill the following necessary details of yours in the form that appears on the screen;
  • Username
  • Email 
  • Phone number, and
  • What Information Should We Know? 

[In this last section of the form, you have to write something that can explain your situation in as much detail as possible. For example, you can elaborate on why you suspect that your Snapchat account has been hacked and so on.]

  • Step 4: In the end, when you’ve completed the form with entering all your necessary details, you can just click on the ‘Send’ button to submit it to Snapchat.

Unlock a Permanently Locked Snapchat Account

Unfortunately, there’s no way to unlock a permanently locked Snapchat account. So, if your account gets permanently locked then, you left with no option then to create a new Snapchat account.

Steps to Create a New Snapchat Account

You need to just follow these below given simple steps in the right order to create a new Snapchat account of yours—

  • Step 1: On your respective mobile device, you’ve to first open the Snapchat app via tapping on its icon.
  • Step 2:  Once the app gets opened, tap on the ‘Sign up’ option located on the app’s home screen that appears.
  • Step 3: As you do so, you’ll be asked to enter your ‘First and Last Name’ into the desired blank spaces. [Note: It is not necessary to use the same first and last name; you always have the option to change your First and Last Name whenever you feel like changing.]
  • Step 4: Next, click on the blue-colored ‘Sign-Up & Accept’ button which is located at the bottom of the app screen.
  • Step 5: Following that, enter your ‘Birthday’ (as every year on your birthday; Snapchat will celebrate it with you) and after you’ve entered your birthdate, just tap on the ‘Continue’ button. 
  • Step 6: Now, you’ll get to see your automatically generated username. Albeit, Snapchat generates a username automatically for its users but, you can change it manually too. For that, you just need to click on the ‘Change my Username’ option which is available in the bottom end of the screen.

[Note: If Snapchat does not generate a Username for your account then, there’s also an option using which you can yourself create your own username.]

  • Step 7: Upon changing/creating your Snapchat username, you again have to click on the ‘Continue’ button to access the next screen.
  • Step 8: There, you simply need to set a ‘Password’ for your Snapchat account. To do so, just enter a strong and unique ‘Password’ of at least 8 characters long in the blank space available. 
  • Step 9: When you’re done entering a password for your Snapchat account, move ahead with the process via clicking the ‘Continue’ button once again. 
  • Step 10: Now, as prompted by Snapchat, you’ve to enter your registered ‘Phone Number’ and after you provide your phone number, you’ll receive a verification code via SMS.  

Alternatively, if you want to enter your email address then, simply click on the ‘Sign up with email’ option and enter your email address to receive the verification code via mail.

  • Step 11: Once you receive the code, you’ve to use it to verify the creation of your Snapchat account. 
  • Step 12: Now, when you’re done with your account verification, just click on the ‘Continue’ button located at the bottom of the screen and you’re done.

Preventive Measures: How to Stop Snapchat from Locking Your Account in the Future?

As you probably have unlocked your Snapchat account now, let’s conclude this post by telling you about some preventive measures that you can take to prevent your Snapchat account from getting compromised or temporarily/ permanently locked again—

  • Verify your email address and phone number to ensure looking more trustworthy, real and genuine user on the Snapchat platform.
  • Instead of using unauthorized third-party apps that are against Snapchat’s terms of service, you should only use Snapchat approved apps and plugins.
  • Comply with the rules and regulations of Snapchat platform.
  • Never perform or indulge in any suspicious activity that goes against Snapchat’s community guidelines. 
  • Lastly, keep changing your Snapchat account’s password and also secure it using a passphrase and combination of random as well as special characters to not let anyone compromise with your account’s security.

So, with these preventive measures you can safe and secure your Snapchat account from of course unnecessarily and unexpectedly locks!

Read Also: 9 Ways to Fix Snapchat Not Loading Snaps or Anything Issue