Snapchat is one of the few social media platforms that made its name on the back of privacy-centric features. Knowing that your seen message will self-destruct after a period of time (by default) gives many of us peace of mind when sharing with others. As such photos, videos, and texts are shared freely on Snapchat. 

But conversations have a knack of piling up over time, even if you’re not the chatty type. Without a proper way of managing conversations, you are left with a cluttered chat feed with a long list of conversations to sift through. 

To that end, today we take a look at what the Clear Conversation option does and how you can clear conversations with it on Snapchat.

What is the Clear conversation option on Snapchat?

The ‘Clear Conversation’ option is one way by which Snapchat lets you wipe the slate clean and keep a manageable chat feed (also known as the Friends page). Clearing a conversation from this page doesn’t delete the contents of the chat itself, only the chat thread. This feature can come in handy when you don’t want to delete a conversation but also want to keep it private and clear of prying eyes. 

How to clear Snapchat conversations?

If you want to delete a Snapchat conversation, follow the steps below:

Open Snapchat and tap on your profile icon at the top left corner.

Tap on Settings (gear icon) in the top right corner.

Now, scroll down until you find Clear Conversation under “Privacy”, then tap on it.

Here, you will see all the conversations you’ve had in the past. To clear a conversation, tap the X next to a friend’s name.

Tap Clear again.

The selected conversation won’t appear on your chat feed any longer. 

What happens when you clear a conversation?

Clearing a conversation will not delete the chat itself. It only removes your friend’s username and the conversation thread from the chat feed. Although any conversation that you’ve had with others can be cleared this way, it is important to note that it will not impact the conversation history on your friend’s phone. So do think twice before letting go of your copy of the chat. 

Clearing conversations doesn’t just wipe the slate clean, it also helps the app work without any jitters. Conversation data that’s just been lying around without much use should be the first thing to go if the Snapchat app is slowing down on your phone. 

Can you retrieve a conversation?

Conversations once cleared can be resurrected as soon as you or your friend re-initiates them. A simple text or snap will bring the chat threat and the user’s name to your feed again, effectively retrieving the deleted conversation. 

Any messages that you’ve saved or sent already won’t be deleted by clearing the conversation alone. This is, once again, because the contents of the conversations are not deleted when clearing conversations. Only the conversation history is.

Snapchat’s unique blend of privacy and user-oriented features have set it apart from your run-of-the-mill social media platforms which is why many of us still use it on a daily basis. And now you know how to keep the chat feed clean while you’re at it.

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