What Does ‘Pending’ Mean on Snapchat?

Have you tried Snapping a friend recently, but it comes up in your chat that the message or media is ‘pending’? If so, you may be wondering why this is happening.

Continue reading to find out what this means, and how you can fix it.

What Does ‘Pending’ Mean on Snapchat?

Are my Snaps ‘Pending’?

Before we take a deeper look into why your snaps aren’t fully sending through to your chosen person, let’s find out what it looks like when a snap is ‘pending’.

When you open up your Snapchat Chat menu, where you can see all the people that you have ever sent Snaps to, you will notice little icons and text underneath their names (see also “How To Make A Group Chat On Snapchat“).

Each of these icons will represent something different.

You may see the words ‘Received from [insert name]’ next to a speech bubble icon next to it, which means that that specific user has messaged you, but you haven’t replied yet.

If you see ‘Opened’ next to an arrow, that user has opened your Snap but not replied.

If you see text that reads ‘Pending’ with a blue speech bubble, or a gray arrow, next to it, this means that the Snap that you have sent to that user hasn’t actually been received by them.

Your message is still pending, and, for some reason, you will be unable to contact that person at that time.

Why are my Snaps ‘Pending’?

If you scrolled through your Snapchat chats only to discover that a message you sent to a friend is still ‘pending’, you may be panicking right now.

Your automatic response may be to assume the worst: that your friend has deleted or blocked you.

Thankfully, this isn’t always the case! There are many reasons that your Snaps may be pending. Here is our list of reasons why your Snaps are pending.

The User Has Unfriended You

While this is the reason that you would be dreading to discover, it is possible that the user that you are trying to contact has deleted you as a friend. 

If you click on the chat, and see text that reads ‘Your chats will be pending until [Insert Name] adds you as a friend’, and you were previously friends on Snapchat, there’s a high chance that they have unfriended you. 

The User Has Blocked You

Similarly to the previous section, a pending message can sometimes mean that the user has blocked you from their account. 

However, if you have been blocked by a user on Snapchat, it is more likely that you would receive a message letting you know that ‘your message has failed to send’.

Their account may not even be accessible to you if they have blocked you, so this may not be the case.

The User Hasn’t Accepted Your Friend Request

If you have sent a Snap or message to someone (see also “How To Pin Someone On Snap“), but they haven’t added you as a friend yet, the message will appear to be ‘pending’ until they add you back.

The ‘Pending’ text should disappear once they have viewed what you have sent them.

The User Has Deleted Their Account

If someone deletes their Snapchat account, their previous chat history with other users will remain unchanged (see also “How To Unblock Someone On Snapchat“). All the messages will remain on the other users’ accounts.

However, if you were to message a person who has deleted their Snapchat account (see also “How To Delete Roblox Account“), your message would be ‘pending’ until they decide to reactivate their account, if they ever decide to do so.

Your Phone/Smart Device Doesn’t Have A Connection

This could be a simple case of your phone or smart device not being connected to Wi-Fi, or having any signal.

If you have no internet connection, your messages won’t be able to send, and will therefore show up as ‘Pending’ until you receive a connection.

What Does ‘Pending’ Mean on Snapchat?

Your Account Has Been Restricted

Your app’s functionality might be limited if you’ve abused or harassed other users, or you have infringed on Snapchat’s rules in some other way.

This means that, until your account has been reinstated, you won’t be able to send Snaps to anyone.

The App Is Down/Glitching

Lastly, Snapchat itself may simply not be working. Sometimes an app will go down for an hour or so while its technicians fix any issues, which will prevent any users from using the app’s functions until they are fixed.

How To Work Out Why Your Snaps Are Pending

If your Snaps are coming up as ‘pending’, but you are not sure exactly why, then there are a couple of things you can do to narrow down what is going on.

Check If You Are Connected To Wi-Fi/Data

The first thing you should do is double check if your phone or smart device is connected to the internet. If it’s not, it is likely that this is the reason that all your Snaps are showing as ‘pending’.

Find Out If The App Is Down

If your internet connection is fully functional, the next step is to find out if Snapchat, as a whole, is currently not working.

You can find this out by quickly Googling the situation, or checking through other social media sites, like Twitter.

Send A Snap To Another User

If your Snaps are pending to one specific user, try Snapping another user to see if the same issue occurs. If not, it is likely that you have been deleted, blocked, or that user has deactivated their account.

Restart Your Phone/Smart Device

Turning your phone or smart device off and on again is always a good idea whenever a technical issue arises.

This may fix the situation, and hopefully you will find that all your Snaps have sent once you turn your device back on.

Contact Your Friend Through Another Form Of Communication

If you’re really worried that a friend has blocked you on Snapchat, your best bet is to contact them through another form of communication.

Send them a text, give them a call, or check if they have blocked you on any other apps.

Final Thoughts

Hopefully, your friend has simply deleted their Snapchat account without telling anyone, and that is why they’re not receiving your messages.

Or, maybe your Wi-Fi is faulty, making it difficult for you to contact anyone.

By following our steps above, you can quickly work out why your Snaps are still ‘pending’, and perhaps even solve this issue.

Matt Johnson
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