How to block or unblock someone on Snapchat, and what happens when you do block someone

Lucy Nicholson/Reuters

You can block or unblock someone on Snapchat whether they're in your Friends list or not.

• You can block or unblock someone on Snapchat easily, but figuring out what exactly happens when you block someone can be confusing.
• Blocking someone on Snapchat not only makes it impossible for that person's account to contact you, but they also can't see your public posts on the app.
• The act of blocking someone on Snapchat will only take a minute to complete, and is the same on both iPhone and Android.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

The ability to connect with people via social media can be great - until it isn't.

Maybe you're dealing with unwanted messages from someone, or you just don't want that person to be able to see your posts. That's when it's time to block that person.

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On Snapchat, the blocking process is really easy, assuming you're familiar with navigating the app.

Here's everything you need to know about blocking people on Snapchat on your iPhone or Android phone, and what happens afterward.

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How to block someone on Snapchat

Blocking people on Snapchat will only take a minute or so to complete, so here's how to do it:

1. Open the Snapchat app on your phone and sign into your account, if necessary.

2. Swipe to the right to open your Friends screen.

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Open your Friends screen.

3. Locate the person you want to block and tap and hold their name.

4. Select "More."

Devon Delfino/Business Insider

Tap "More."

5. Tap "Block."

If the person you want to block isn't on your Friends list, search for them by tapping the magnifying glass next to the word "Friends" at the top of the screen and typing their username. Once you find them, tap and hold on their name, select "More," and press "Block."

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Tap "Block."

What happens when you block someone on Snapchat

When you block a person on Snapchat, they won't be able to look at your Story or Group Charms. They also won't be able to send you Snaps or chats.

So, assuming they don't have another way to contact you, and they aren't friends with you on another social media site, blocking will cut them off from you.

That's the main difference between blocking people and removing friends on Snapchat: Blocking makes it so that people can't even see your publicly shared content, while removing friends would not.

How to unblock someone on Snapchat

If for any reason you want to unblock someone later on, you'll be able to do that from your Snapchat settings screen.

1. Tap on your profile icon in the top-left corner, then tap on the gear icon in the top-right.

2. Once in your Settings, scroll to "Blocked" at the very bottom of the screen. You'll find all the people you've blocked in this menu.

3. Tap the "X" next to the username you'd like to unblock.

Related coverage from How To Do Everything: Tech:

• How to save videos and photos you've taken on Snapchat, and one way to save videos from others

• How to find and add someone on Snapchat on iPhone or Android, in 3 different ways

• How to delete or deactivate your Snapchat account, which you can only do from a desktop browser

• How to delete or block friends on Snapchat on an iPhone or Android