Whilst a lot of social media sites give users some control of their username as long as they can pass some security checks, Snapchat does not. A username chosen on Snapchat is a username forever and to make matters worse this might not even be something you realize when you choose.
If you are like a lot of people, stuck with an undesirable username all is not lost as you can still change your display name and we will guide you through the process here. Your username is only visible to people if they click on your profile, so it’s not the name they will most frequently encounter.
Table of Contents
Changing Your Display Name
Changing your display name is extremely easy!
It’ll take you less than a minute (once you’ve chosen a display name you like) and you can do it as many times and as frequently as you desire so you could reinvent your Snapchat account whenever you’re life changes to require this. Just follow the steps below:
- Access the My Profile page
- Click on the Settings cogwheel
- Under your profile picture, you will see two names displayed
- The top name displayed is your display name and you can change this by clicking on it.
- Once you have changed it click save
- You can now go back to your profile to view your new display name
Some people, depending on their own Snapchat settings, will not see your display name. They will see the name they have saved you as in their phone contacts list.
Creating a New Account
This is really a lot of trouble especially if you have a lot of friends. If you are becoming a social media influencer or a celebrity you may want a separate public account for your business and to keep your personal account for your personal friends. Snapchat has published guidelines on how to make the most of its service as a public profile.
Read on, if you are certain that the only way forward for you is to create a new Snapchat account. Note that this means you will lose all your story items, best friends, trophies, scores, etc. as these are not transferable. You will also need to recreate your entire friend list. So, you may need to notify your friends that you are changing your account details.
E-mail address
You cannot use the same e-mail address to create a new Snapchat account. You will need to either:
- Use a different e-mail address to register for the new account
- Delete your existing Snapchat account and then rejoin
If you choose option two, i.e., deleting your existing account ensure you have saved all the information you need. This is going to be the usernames of all your friends, taking particular care to save individuals who are not saved in your phone contacts.
You don’t have to delete your account and can keep it if you so wish if you are registering with a different email for the new account. Just keep in mind that phone contacts will only see your new account if they try to add you on Snapchat. You can’t be logged in to two accounts simultaneously using the same phone number.
Saving Your Friends’ Usernames
This isn’t tricky but can be a little time-consuming depending on how many friends you have. To see a friend’s username, you need to do the following:
- Select start chat
- Select “All”
- Once you’ve done this you need to search for your friends in the search box at the top of the window.
- Under each friend’s display name their username will appear
- Make a note of this in a way that is easy for you to access, our suggestion is either writing them down in a notebook or even better a note app so you can copy and paste them later
Once you’ve done this you are ready to delete your account if you want to use the same email address to create your new account.
Why you can’t change your Snapchat username
Social media has changed how we relate to each other and connect with our friends and families. Snapchat has been a sensation among teenagers for many years, many of whom are now young adults. Often when we choose a username in our younger days we may not want to stand by this name choice as we enter adulthood.
This is for a variety of reasons such as changes to our tastes, what we find exciting or interesting, and of course the embarrassment factor. Imagine displaying a username that might have been our childhood nickname or chosen for a fascination with an idol or a cartoon we no longer identify with.
Snapchat makes recommendations of available usernames if the username you are trying to sign up with is unavailable. If you are just signing up for your first Snapchat account, keep trying until a username you are happy with proves to be available. This is your only chance.
If the username still concerns you, and you for example are very embarrassed about it or think it’s inappropriate you still have one option available to you. This is to create a new Snapchat account and add all your friends again. We will guide you through the process in case your situation requires this rather than just changing your display name.
Final Thoughts
It is adequate for most people to change their display name. If you however need to change your username and choose to create a new account, we highly suggest that you make sure it’s a name you’ll be happy with for a long time to save you going through that process again.
Happy Snapping!
