What Does Time Sensitive mean on Snapchat

In May 15, 2023, Snapchat introduced a new feature called Time Sensitive. Many users were confused about what it was and why they kept receiving notifications on their smartphones, sometimes for stories and other times for messages. Some users even had the “Do Not Disturb” mode turned on, yet they were still getting these notifications.

Basically, Snapchat considers these notifications as important, so they introduced the “time-sensitive” feature, which ensures that even if someone has the “Do Not Disturb” mode enabled on their mobile device, they will still receive these notifications. These notifications include stories, messages from friends, and important updates from Snapchat, among others.

Apple has also adopted this feature and introduced it in the iPhone iOS 15 in September 2021 because it’s considered highly significant.

For example

if you’re driving somewhere and have set your location on your mobile map to your destination. As soon as you arrive at that location, Time Sensitive will send you a notification saying that you’ve reached your location. This notification will come through even if your Do Not Disturb mode is on.

Now, many users are bothered by this feature because they didn’t find Snapchat notifications that important. There’s a method to turn it off.

How to Turn Off Time Sensitive Notifications on Snapchat

Yes, you can turn off time-sensitive notifications in both Android and iPhone, which is quite easy.

On Android

Android doesn’t have the time-sensitive feature yet, but you can turn off notifications.

Open your Android settings.
Go to “Apps.”
Open Snapchat.
Open “Manage notifications.”
Here, you can turn off “All Snapchat Notifications.”

On iOS

First, go to your iPhone’s settings.
Navigate to “Apps.”
Scroll down a bit and click on Snapchat.
You will see the option to turn off Time Sensitive Notifications, toggle it off.

When are Snapchat Time Sensitive Notifications Shown

Right now, Snapchat hasn’t told us how they decide which notifications are urgent and which aren’t. But, according to my observation and testing, Snapchat thinks messages from your Best Friends Forever (BFF) and friends in your Snapchat Planet System are important. Even if your iPhone is set to silent mode, you’ll still see these notifications.

Final Words

In this article, I’ve informed you about Snapchat new feature called “Time Sensitive.” This feature ensures that important notifications are delivered to users even when they have the Do Not Disturb mode enabled. However, you can also turn it off, and I’ve provided you with easy methods to do so on both Android and iPhone.

FAQs

Time-sensitive notifications are those sent by Snapchat that are considered very important, and they will be delivered to your smartphone even if you have the Do Not Disturb mode enabled.

You can simply go to your mobile settings and turn it off.

Open your mobile settings.
Go to “Apps.”
Click on Snapchat.
Turn off time-sensitive notifications.
If you’re an Android user, you can turn off “All Snapchat Notifications.”

If your screen is locked, it will be displayed on your lock screen for up to an hour because these notifications can be important for users. If you view them or open them, they will disappear; otherwise, they will remain for up to an hour.

If your Do Not Disturb mode is on and a time-sensitive notification needs to be delivered, it will bypass the Do Not Disturb mode and show you the notification.

Snapchat marks some notifications as time-sensitive because they may be important or highly relevant to you. The app’s algorithm determines which notifications are of high priority and importance to you.