Snapchat’s temporary messages and deletion of content have appealed to many, with the company going from strength to strength. But if you don’t use your account for a while or are finding it hard to get back into your account, does Snapchat delete inactive accounts?
Snapchat does not delete inactive accounts although your account can be deleted for a long list of behaviors such as abusing their platform, spamming and many other reasons.
Let’s look at how Snapchat deals with accounts, how they make their accounts inactive and what you can do to make your own account inactive. Let’s also look at how to recover an account as well as how logging in and out changes your account status.
How Long Does It Take for Snapchat to Delete Inactive Accounts?
Snapchat differs from many other social media platforms in that they don’t delete accounts for inactivity.
Users have found that an account that was created years ago is still running and active after they run through an account recovery process and get back in.
Generally, the only reason to make a Snapchat account disappear is to delete it.
There has been no official statement from Snapchat regarding account deletion merely for inactivity.
While a reading of their terms of service suggests they still reserve the right to delete or suspend an account for almost any reason, Snapchat appears not to do this for inactivity.
What Happens to Inactive Snapchat Accounts?
Snapchat doesn’t seem to mind keeping inactive accounts on their books because they can point to it as a large total user base.
While this strategy has its downsides because investors can get antsy if you claim to have many users when a lot of them are inactive.
However, there’s also the issue of usernames. Some people want usernames that have been taken already, and if that user is no longer using that account it’s only natural that someone wants to get that name, and may even be willing to pay to get it.
It becomes a tricky situation that often is only a pain for the developer to have to deal with.
You can also verify your Snapchat profile to make it more secure and enable you to regain access to it easily. Log in to your Snapchat account and then from your profile icon, tap the Settings gear in the corner.
Tap Email and then tap the hyperlink regarding the verification email section. This will course Snapchat to resend the verification email and you can then check your email inbox and complete the verification process.
Even if you forget the email for your account, if you can remember the username instead this will still allow you to log back in.
Inactive accounts still maintain most of their save data, including contacts, saved memories and all other things and all of this will still be there even if you login years later.
When Can Snapchat Delete Your Account?
The main reason Snapchat will delete your account is due to a violation of their terms of service.
This covers a whole range of topics, but generally means you have to be 13 or older to use Snapchat.
If you try to modify Snapchat or reverse engineer it that could result in account deletion. If you go against their privacy policy or generally break laws such as copyright protections Snapchat has cause to kick you off permanently.
One of the most common ways for Snapchat to delete an account is to post content related to illegal substances. You don’t even have to use any substances in a Snap as even an explicit reference to it has been enough to get many people banned.
Snapchat has many automated systems that scan Snaps and Stories and while it may not pick up everything and can be tricked relatively easily, you are playing with fire if you constantly mention illicit substances, even if they’re permitted in the state you live in.
Pornographic images are generally fine in private messages, but posting these to Stories or publicly may get your account deleted in a short time. If anyone is under 18 then that is almost certainly off-limits to post any nude content. You could also end up in legal trouble.
Abusing other users or harassing people is also a surefire way to get your account nuked.
Snapchat also doesn’t have a public policy of deleting inactive accounts so you don’t have to worry about Snapchat removing your account just if you don’t bother using it for a while such as if you travel overseas.
Snapchat may also delete your account if they suspect you of running a fake or spamming account, or if your account is involved in any other mischief. Snapchat has a lot of leeway in this instance due to their terms of service giving them large amounts of discretion.
Does Logging Out of Snapchat Delete Your Account?
Logging out of Snapchat will not delete your Snapchat account. It will still be active on Snapchat’s servers and you need to go through a proper process to actually delete your account or make it inactive.
This extends to deleting the app of your device, as just removing the Snapchat app won’t extend to removing your real account.
You’ll need to login into your account and then go to the Accounts section if not there already, then select Delete My Account. The process takes 30-days and if you log in again within this time, the account will be reactivated.
This also can’t be done via the app and you’ll need to get your hands on a computer and log in via a browser.
If you miss the 30-days time period, then the account is permanently disabled and not even Snapchat can recover it after this time.
Keep in mind that you should get in touch with Snapchat support quickly if you’re unable to log in to restore a mistakenly deleted account because they may be able to assist you with account recovery if you can’t log in.
