If you’ve made friends with Snapchat, you’ve probably seen a message saying added as username. While this may seem like the obvious way to add new friends, it’s actually one of many possible ways to make new Snap contacts. Here’s what added by username means and how it differs from other friendship methods.
Snapchat | What does it mean added by username?
Added by username on Snapchat means someone added you as a friend by typing your username in the search bar. That doesn’t mean they searched for your real name or any aliases, however. You can only be added via username if someone knows the specific name you use for your Snapchat account.
There are several ways to add friends in Snapchat, and adding by username is one of the most common. Your Snapchat username is visible whenever you are mentioned in a story; after all, typing it is like tagging someone in a Snap. It is possible for users to simply write down your username and then type it into the search bar. If they follow the mention link, you will be added by mention instead.
Snapchat users may be able to see your username if you post to public stories. Public Stories will show the display name of anyone who sends a Snap. If you don’t change your display name to something other than your username, everyone can see your username next to your Snaps. This can be a problem, especially considering there’s no way to change your Snapchat username.
Snap codes, dashed icons like the one shown in the image above, also tend to display usernames. If you use one as a sticker on your Snaps, you can always cut out the text portion. This way they will have to scan the code to add you, which will result in adding Snapcode.
Adding by username only appears when someone searches for your specific Snapchat username. This means that either they found it somewhere, they were told what, or in rare cases, they just guessed. If you haven’t shared your Snapchat username with anyone, it’s worth asking where your new friend learned the information.
