How to Remove Phone Number from Snapchat

In this digital era, you will rarely find anyone without a social media account. Apps like Instagram, Snapchat, Meta have become second nature to people. While adolescents are mostly associated with social media, adults and even the aged population have gradually been getting accustomed to the changing nature of communication. So, in a way no one is quite untouched by social media platforms in this era.

Out of all the available social media apps, Snapchat has created a niche for itself. Its burgeoning popularity among all age groups can be measured in numbers: no less than 500 million people actively use Snapchat on a monthly basis.

That’s a large number! Social media buffs like to take full advantage of the plethora of available filters and exciting features that are inherent to the social media giant. With a tap of a button, you can capture exciting pictures, add emojis and edit them for your friends and close ones to view.

Much like any other social media apps, Snapchat requires your personal contact details to be verified during the initial sign up process. What happens if you want to remove phone number from Snapchat? It’s tricky, but there are a few ways to maneuver around the social media app and get your wish fulfilled.

In this article, we will be listing down a few ways you can use to remove your phone number from Snapchat.

Why Does Snapchat Require Your Phone Number?

Before getting into the details about how to take phone number off Snapchat, let’s first begin with the basics: why does Snapchat ask for your number at all?

Unlike what many may think, it is not data breach per se, for asking for a phone number is Snapchat’s way of verifying your identity and in turn, preventing identity theft. So, contrary to belief, it is a safety measure designed to ensure no one else disguises as you and signs up with your number. 

Once you enter your contact number, Snapchat will send a verification code via text message, and once you type that in, your identity is confirmed and you become a member! So, be on the lookout for the OTP while signing up on Snapchat. Without it, your sign up process will remain incomplete.

Now, as for how to remove phone number from Snapchat once you have already set up your account, let’s find out.

How to Remove Phone Number from Snapchat

Unfortunately, Snapchat does not allow users to permanently take off their phone numbers from their account information directly at the click of a button. However, it does allow users to either change or update their contact information after the sign up process is complete. 

If you are trying to remove phone number from Snapchat, here are a handful of ways to go about it. You can choose any of them, depending on what you are trying to achieve. Let’s get started with one way at a time:

1. Create Another Account with the Same Contact Number 

After an unforeseen event that led to the data leak of nearly 4.6 million users, the social media mogul issued a new update in 2014 that allows users to remove phone number from Snapchat. However, it is quite a tricky solution.

Essentially, you will need to create a second account with the same primary account’s phone number. While it might sound complicated, once you get to it, you’ll need only a few minutes. 

Let’s look at how to remove your contact information directly from Snapchat:

1. Launch the Snapchat app on your device.
2. Log in to your primary account.
3. Click on your profile icon & Navigate to Settings.
4. Tap on “Log Out” and it will successfully log you out of your primary Snapchat account.

5. Once the Login page appears, tap on Sign-Up.
6. Enter your first and last name, and click on “Sign up & Accept“.
7. Enter your birth date, and tap on Continue.

8. Choose an username of your choice and tap on Continue.
9. Choose a password, and once again click on Continue.
10. Under the “What’s your email address” section, tap the “Sign up with a phone instead” option.

11. Enter your primary account’s phone number that you want to remove from Snapchat.
12. Verify your contact number by entering the code.
13. Finally, log out of the newly created Snapchat account and log back in to your primary account.

Voila, you have successfully removed your phone number from your Snapchat account! This is quite an effective, albeit tricky process. It might seem a little convoluted, but it gets the job done. 

If you are looking to update your contact number instead, there is a way to do that too.

2. Remove and Update Phone Number from Snapchat

Oftentimes, we change our contact number and that naturally creates a need for a change in the phone number on your social media platforms as well. Afterall, you wouldn’t want to keep an outdated phone number as your linked contact details. The next time you are asked to verify your number and you do not have access to it, you can find yourself in quite a pickle!  

If you want to remove phone number from Snapchat and update it with a new one, you can follow a simple few steps to achieve that:

1. Launch Snapchat and log in to your primary account.
2. Click on the profile icon present at the top of the screen.
3. Click on the Settings option.
4. Single-tap on the existing mobile number and remove it from the box.

5. Type in the new phone number and tap on the “verify” button.
6. Snapchat will ask to send a verification code via text or call. Select either of the two.
7. Type in the verification code sent to your number and tap on Submit.

This is a rather quick, easy, and straight-forward fix. Unlike the first one, there is no need to create a second account for this method. You can remove your phone number directly from the app itself.

3. Hide your Phone Number from Snapchat

Note that for iOS users, there is no way to delete or change a phone number that has already been linked to Snapchat. If you want to remove phone number from Snapchat, the only way is to delete your account completely. 

Chances are, you are not looking to delete your labor of love, so the next best thing is to hide your contact number from your Snapchat account. If you have security concerns, this is a great way to resolve that. This method will hide your phone number from public viewing. Let’s see how to get there:

1. Launch the Snapchat app.
2. Sign into your primary Snapchat account.
3. Click on your profile and go to Settings. 
4. Click on the “Mobile Number” button, and turn the “Let others find me using my mobile number” toggle off.

With this method, you can keep your personal contact information safe from going public and being misused, even if it is linked to your account. If this is not the fix you are looking for, read on for more ways to remove phone number from Snapchat.

4. Delete your Snapchat Account

This is the last resort, if nothing else answers your query. Many times, the phone number linked to your account could be causing trouble. In cases like that where you cannot keep the existing number and you do not have a second alternative to replace it with, your best bet is deleting your account altogether and signing up with the same credentials once again. 

Here’s how to go about it:

1. Go to the Snapchat portal & log in with your details.

2. Click on “Delete My Account.”

3. On the next screen, enter your credentials again & click on Continue

This is an easy way to remove phone number from Snapchat. You can go ahead and re-create your account once again, if you wish to retain the same details. Follow the same list of friends and keep the same username to be easily spotted. 

Conclusion

If you came here looking for ways to permanently remove phone number from Snapchat, you will be disappointed because there is no way to do so. Snapchat requires you to have a contact number associated with your account, once you have selected that option during the signup process.

Just remember to sign up via email address the next time you try to open an account, and that should take away all the hassle. If you are trying to remove an existing phone number, these ways could be of help. Happy surfing!