How To Delete Anything On Snapchat, Including Your Account

It's been a rough 2018 for Snapchat. While the app hasn't struggled with the same policy and privacy issues as Twitter and Facebook, it has dealt with the fallout — namely, a drop in its stock price — of a disastrous redesign followed by celebrity backlash. Although Snapchat received a small reprieve at the start of August when it beat Wall Street revenue expectations, it also reported a decline in daily users.

If you're one of those people who finds themselves using the app less, and thinking more about departing for good, here's a complete guide to deleting everything from a friend to your entire account.

To clear your chat history with a specific friend, go to Settings and scroll down to "Clear Conversations" (beneath account action). Tap the "x" next to the friend you want to delete your chat with.

Removing a friend from your friend list is easy, though dealing with the fallout may be slightly more difficult. Tap the search bar and enter the person's name. Doing so opens a chat with them. Tap the menu icon in the upper left-hand corner and select "Remove Friend" at the bottom. You'll be asked to confirm this choice, giving you one last chance to give them a second chance.

As with every other social media app — be it Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram — Snapchat collects information when you use it. Some of this information is obvious, such as your birthday, username, and anything else you submit when creating an account. But some of it is less intuitive, such as a history of the number of stories you've viewed, your content interests, and your location history (including latitude and longitude coordinates for the places you've visited in the last 40 days).

To download this data before deleting your account — or, to get a full picture of what Snapchat knows about you — head to accounts.snapchat.com. Login and select My Data > Submit Request. You'll be emailed a link that you can click to download a copy. You can also request a copy by opening the app and going to Settings > Account Actions > My Data.

Snapchat's deletion process is similar to Facebook's, in that tapping "delete" does not automatically remove your information from the app. Instead, there's a 30-day grace period. During that time frame your account is simply deactivated: Friends can't send you Snaps or chat with you, but you can log back in to reactivate your account at any time. Only after those days are up is your account officially deleted.

Snapchat says it may retain some data, such as information about purchases you made while using the app, for "certain legal security and business needs" after your account is gone.

To begin the process, you'll need to log in to your account on a desktop computer. Tap "Delete My Account" and enter your username and password.