Hacked Snapchat Account: How to Recover It (2026)
Hacked or locked out of Snapchat? Reset your password at accounts.snapchat.com, use the compromised-account route if your email changed, then secure it.
Quick answer: Go to accounts.snapchat.com and reset your password using the email address or phone number still on the account. If you cannot do that, or the attacker changed your email, phone number and password, Snapchat's help page "My account is compromised" sends you to the Snapchat Support Bot on help.snapchat.com, and Snapchat says it will ask for details such as your username to verify who you are. Once you are back in, remove any device you do not recognise and turn on two-factor authentication. Snapchat says its staff will never ask for your password.
This guide follows Snapchat's own help pages, listed at the end. Use only Snapchat's own routes.
What to do in 3 steps
- Reset or change your password. Open accounts.snapchat.com, or tap Forgot your password? on the app's login screen. Snapchat says you can ask for a reset link or code by SMS or email.
- Check your email for notices from Snapchat saying your password or contact details were changed. Snapchat says you may be able to revert a change from such a notice.
- If you cannot get in, use the Snapchat Support Bot linked from the "My account is compromised" help article (see below).
If you can still log in: lock it down
Snapchat's pages list these signs of a hacked account: a login alert for a device you do not know, a changed mobile number, email or display name, two-factor authentication you did not add, spam sent from your account, new friends you did not add, and Story or Spotlight posts you did not make. If you see them, do these things:
- Change your password in the app: open Settings, then Password. Snapchat advises at least 8 characters, mixed numbers, symbols and letters, and nothing personal such as your name or birthday.
- Remove unknown devices. On the web, open accounts.snapchat.com, choose Session Management and click Log Out next to anything unfamiliar. In the app, go to Settings, then My Account, then Session Management, and tap the X.
- Remove connected apps you do not recognise: Settings, then Connected Apps, tap the app, then Remove.
- Check your email and mobile number under Settings are yours.
- Turn on two-factor authentication: Settings, My Account, Two-Factor Authentication, tap Continue, then choose SMS or Authentication App. Snapchat says you must have both an email and a mobile number on the account to use it. With 2FA on, you also need the login code to reset a forgotten password.
- Consider a passkey (Settings, then My Account, then Passkey). Snapchat says they may not be available to you yet.
- Create a Recovery Code if you use 2FA (Settings, My Account, Two-Factor Authentication, Recovery Code, Generate Code), and store it somewhere safe that is not your email. Snapchat says it does not offer support for lost Recovery Codes, and that using one turns 2FA off until you switch it on again.
If you are locked out but still have your email or phone
On the web: go to accounts.snapchat.com, enter the phone number or email on the account, click Forgot Password, send a one-time code, and follow the SMS or email. In the app: tap Forgot your password?, choose email or SMS, and follow the link or code.
Snapchat says it cannot reset a password if the account has no email or mobile number, if you do not know them, or if you cannot access them. Snapchat says a login code can also be an extra security step on a new device. If you lost your phone and had a Recovery Code, enter your username and password and use it when asked.
If the attacker changed your email, phone or password
This is the hard case, and Snapchat's pages say less about it than you might hope. Here is exactly what they say:
- Look in your email (including spam) for any message from Snapchat about a change to your password or contact details. Snapchat says you may be able to revert it.
- Open the "My account is compromised" article and use the Snapchat Support Bot. The "I think my account was compromised" option on Snapchat's Contact Us page opens the same bot. The bot itself notes that it uses AI and may be inaccurate, so do not share sensitive details in it.
- Include an email address you can access so you can receive a reply. Snapchat says it will ask for more details to verify your identity, such as your username and when you lost access.
- Never give your password or My Eyes Only passcode, even to Snapchat. It says it never needs them.
The pages we read do not describe an ID or selfie step, give no timeline, and do not promise that recovery will work. Snapchat's contact page lists no support phone number.
If your phone was stolen
Contact your mobile carrier straight away to block the SIM, so a thief cannot use it to receive codes sent to your number. If you set up your phone's official find-my-device service, use it to lock or erase the handset. If the phone was signed in to your email, WhatsApp or other apps, secure those too (see our WhatsApp recovery guide).
On Snapchat itself: if you can log in on another device, sign the stolen phone out under Session Management (see above). Snapchat also says that when a linked device is lost or stolen, you should "forget" it as soon as you can under Settings, My Account, Two-Factor Authentication, Forget Devices. If you used an authentication app on that phone, Snapchat says you may lose access if you lose the device and your Recovery Code.
If the account is locked, disabled or deactivated
- Temporarily locked: Snapchat says to go to accounts.snapchat.com and select Unlock. For some other temporary locks it says to wait 48 hours and try again.
- Locked as compromised "just to be safe": Snapchat points to the Support Bot.
- Permanently locked for breaking its rules: only eligible locks can be appealed, by tapping Appeal Decision in the app when you try to log in. If you do not see that option, Snapchat says the lock is not eligible. Snapchat says this is the only legitimate way to appeal, and that you can appeal within six months of being told of the decision.
- Deactivated: you have 30 days to reactivate by logging in to the app with your username before it is scheduled for permanent deletion. Snapchat says you cannot change your password or log in with your email or phone number while it is deactivated.
After you are back in
Check Chat, Story and Spotlight for anything you did not post, and tell friends to ignore messages from you during the hack. Snapchat also lists an alert about a data export you did not start as a sign of compromise, so look for one in your email. Never add an email address you do not own: Snapchat says scammers offer free gift cards or subscriptions for this, and it can be used to hack your account.
Warning: fake recovery offers
Snapchat says the only legitimate ways to unlock an account are to do it yourself or appeal in the app, and not to listen to scammers who claim they can unlock it. It says it will never email or text you to ask for your password or login codes, or to click a login link. Check an email's sender domain is accounts.snapchat.com, or check the app's notifications and Session Management. Paid "recovery" offers are not a Snapchat route; see "The Second Scam".
If someone is threatening you
If the hacker is blackmailing you with images, do not pay. Read our sextortion guide and report it to the police.
A child's account
Snapchat is for ages 13 and over. If a younger person is locked out or being pressured, ask a parent or trusted adult to help.
We checked the steps against Snapchat's own help pages on 27 October 2026; menus change, so follow the on-screen prompts if they differ.
Sources
- My account is compromised
- I can't access my account
- I forgot my password. How do I reset it?
- How do I change my Snapchat password?
- My Snapchat account is locked
- I got a sign-in alert I didn't request
- How do I manage the devices where I'm currently signed into my Snapchat account?
- How do I remove a connected app from Snapchat?
- How do I set up Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) on Snapchat with SMS?
- How do I set up Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) on Snapchat with an authentication app?
- How do I use a Recovery Code for Snapchat?
- How do I forget a linked device on Snapchat?
- How do I use Passkeys on Snapchat?
- I can't receive my code to log into Snapchat
- How to Submit an Appeal
- What steps can I take to help protect my security and safety on Snapchat?
- How do I contact Snapchat Support?
- Snapchat Support: Contact Us
If you have been targeted, you are not alone. See our country-by-country cybercrime help hub for step-by-step reporting and recovery guides.