Among the variety of distinct emoji available on Snapchat is the hourglass, and if this icon is visible it means denizens of the app have reason to act fast. As one in a set of other emoji, the hourglass joins the list of others used by Snapchat to indicate something important. Unique icons have long since shown up on the app as a complementary aspect of the Snapchat experience, giving those with the app a range of symbols to learn about. Despite how many there are, they're fairly intuitive in what they represent and their consistency helps to keep things simple. In this case however, there's more than meets the eye.
When the social media app isn't gaining attention for its celebrity content, it stays in the news for implementing creative features or improvements to older functionality. In terms of emoji, it's built itself a foundation which now shows off the way users interact with each other like the earlier Snapstreak still does. Whether it happens to be the birthday of a friend, or someone in particular is receiving a lot of attention compared to others, there's an emoji for that. However, there are some that require more direct and immediate action.
The hourglass means the clock is ticking, according to Snapchat, as when this friend emoji appears it signals a Snapstreak is at risk. Two people who've racked up consecutive days going back and forth directly with Snaps will lose that streak. That is, unless they act fast. As soon as the icon appears next to a friend's name, both have twenty-four hours to Snap one another, and it only takes one buddy not getting to it in time for that streak to be gone. All hope isn't lost though, as nothing about the hourglass emoji says friends won't be able to restart their streaks from the ground up, but chatting or sending Snaps to groups won't count toward Streaks or saving them. Getting rid of the hourglass means the Snaps both need to be one-on-one.
Staying Connected With Friends
With a full day of notice before a Streak runs out, it shouldn't be too hard to keep them going. The app has a history or releasing new features frequently enough to keep things fresh, meaning when those looking to maintain their Streaks aren't registering to vote they can get back to sending Snaps to friends with music, funny face-filters and lenses, or even slow-motion videos. Those diligent in keeping close with friends have a chance at getting special charms exclusive to those friendships and only visible to the two for whom they're given, but when or exactly how the mementos are awarded isn't explained in detail.
The hourglass isn't a complicated addition to Snapchat, but giving friends on the app a reminder to keep pet videos going back and forth will probably save some Streaks and drive interaction. At the end of the day, that's what the friend emoji are all about with each icon being specific to how two people interact with each other. Little additions like these have worked in tandem with those that let buddies take and send funny selfies, and to Snapchat's credit, that's kept its news coverage coming. If the feature updates lately are any indication, Snapchat regulars can reasonably expect more to come in the future.
Source: Snapchat