The rise of Snapchat as one of the preferred methods of communication for millennials forces the app to find ways to remain current. Thus far, it has done a good job. It added games, the ability to Shazam through Snapchat and you can even win trophies and boost your Snapchat score—an ingenious method by the company to heighten engagement. Who doesn’t love a good competition?
Unfortunately, many people likely have no idea what their Snapchat score is, or how to improve it. Look no further, we have the answers to all of your questions about Snapchat scores and how to be the best Snapper in your social circle.
How to get a higher Snapchat score
How does your Snapchat score work?
A Snapchat score is gained by sending and receiving snaps. The simple algorithm values use over time—which means that most people who’ve had a Snapchat account for awhile have probably racked up a score of at least a few hundred points, whether they know it or not. Adding snaps to your story also adds single points to your score. Users who’ve let the app idle for some time might see a larger boost to their score when they reopen Snapchat after a long break.
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Where can you see your Snapchat score?
You can’t start improving your Snapchat score until you know where you currently stand. To view your current score, pull up the app and click on the small human icon on the upper-left corner of your screen. Here you will see your profile with your Snapcode and details about your account.
Underneath your name, you’ll see your Snapchat username alongside your score.
If you tap this number your score will split, showing you two smaller numbers instead. The number on the left is the total snaps you’ve sent, the one on the right counts up snaps you’ve received. This number doesn’t include posts to your story—which you gain points for—so the two numbers combined are lower than your actual snap score.
How is a Snapchat score calculated?
You gain single points for each picture or video sent, along with one point for each opened snap. Received snaps do nothing for your score until they’ve been opened, so try to keep up with all those pictures of your aunt’s dog. No points are gained by opening and communicating through chat unless there is an accompanying photo.
Posting a photo or video to your story also gains you single points, but you won’t see your score increase as people watch it. When it comes to sent snaps, it doesn’t matter how many people see. Only the initial send counts, so sending a snap to one person or 100 people will get you the same number of points.
Snapchat score hack: How to increase your Snapchat score
If you’ve seen sites or people claiming that they can hack the Snapchat score to rapidly increase it, I am here to crush that dream. Unfortunately, the Snapchat algorithm cannot be hacked. Multiple sources report that sites promising to give your score a hearty boost if you just fill out a survey or two will do nothing but waste your time.
There is, however, a Snapchat score hack, if you’re looking to give your Snapchat score a hearty boost. Sending yourself snaps can add points to your score without annoying all of your friends with over-abundant and unnecessary photos.
Opening snaps from yourself does nothing for your score, unfortunately, but sending yourself a handful every day will see your score shooting up in no time.
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One other way to cheat the system is by sending snaps to celebrities.
Take, for instance, the fact that I am “friends” with Arnold Schwarzenegger on Snapchat. I think we can all comfortably bet that he has never opened one of my snaps. Celebrities have amassed hundreds of thousands of friends on Snapchat, which means they receive an inordinate number of snaps every day. Most of these are likely never opened.
Sending heaps of snaps to celebrity accounts can give your score that boost you are looking for, again without irritating your friends with neverending notifications. Send all those snaps to Arnold instead. I’m sure he won’t mind.