The Green Dot on Snapchat Is Only Somewhat Reliable

Of all of the social media apps, Snapchat is known for airing its users' business. The infamous best friends list was the catalyst for plenty of fights between friends and partners, and even after the app removed it as a feature publicly displayed on a person's profile, users still hounded for any little bit of information they could get with the new features.

As part of a recent update, Snapchat added a green dot next to a user's name if they've been active. But how long does it stay after logging off?

Though the green dot is meant to indicate that a user has recently been active, it's not always entirely accurate. The green dot doesn't disappear the moment a user closes out the app, so if you're using it to track when your crush is going to open the flirty snap you sent, know they may not actually be online when the green dot appears next to their name.

The dot will appear almost immediately after a Snapchat user opens the app (so long as they're connected to the internet), but it'll stay for a little bit after the app is closed. It's estimated it can take as long as three to five minutes for it to disappear after a user has closed Snapchat.

Occasionally, the green dot will also come with a measure of time next to it, indicating just how long ago the user logged off. Because of this, the green dot may not indicate that a user is currently active, but instead share that they were recently online. Trust whatever the displayed measure of time is as an indicator of when that user closed the app. If they've been offline for more than 24 hours, then the green dot should disappear completely.

If you'd rather your friends not know when you were last active on the app, it's actually incredibly easy to turn this feature off, giving you a bit more privacy. To do this, open Snapchat and then select the gear button on your profile screen. This will open the settings, where you can then scroll down to "Privacy Controls."

From here, select "Activity Indicator," and toggle it to the off position. Doing this will turn off the green dot that appears next to your name on your friends' feed when you've recently been active. This can help if you have a friend who messages you immediately any time they see you online, or if you'd just like to have a bit more privacy as to when you open and close the app.

Of all of the social media sites, Snapchat has some of the most revealing privacy features — it's always been known as the social media app that airs users' shady business to everyone they're friends with. Thankfully, if you're still insistent on using the app, there are ways to regain your privacy.