The Apple Watch serves as a companion to a user's iPhone, and can display both past and incoming Snapchat notifications on a person's wrist. Although Apple's smartwatch has become more powerful and self-sufficient over the years — gaining processing power and features — it still can't replace an iPhone. Some applications don't even support watchOS, and need to be accessed via a paired iPhone. But users can view their iPhone's incoming notifications on their Apple Watch even if the sending application doesn't have a native watchOS app. That includes Snapchat, the popular social media platform centered around sharing photos and videos.

By opening the Apple Watch app on a paired iPhone, users can make sure the Snapchat app is allowed to send notifications to their smartwatch. From the app, tap the 'Notifications' tab in the middle of the 'My Watch' page. Scroll past the system-wide settings toggles and the tabs for Apple's native watchOS apps. Under the 'Mirror iPhone Alerts From' header, find Snapchat in the list of applications, sorted in alphabetical order. Next, tap the toggle next to 'Snapchat' in order to mirror iPhone alerts.

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Snapchat Notifications Are Limited On Apple Watch

Snapchat logo on iPhone 12

If the toggle is green, an Apple Watch will completely mirror the notification settings of its paired iPhone. That means if Snapchat is blocked from sending iPhone notifications — or is only permitted to send certain notifications, like for chats and stories — these notifications will also be blocked on Apple Watch. Similarly, if Snapchat can send any type of notification on the iPhone, these same notifications will appear on an Apple Watch.

Snapchat notifications on Apple Watch are fairly limited, especially when compared to other messaging and communication apps. Notifications will let users know when someone is typing and after a chat has been sent, but users can't view the contents of the message or reply to it. For that, they'll have to open the chat on their iPhone. Regardless, it's nice that Snapchat users can be notified when they've received a chat on their Apple Watch.

However, users might not want to be bombarded with tons of notifications from a variety of applications on their Apple Watch. Some apps use push notifications to place advertisements or promotions in front of their users, which isn't a great experience on the Apple Watch. Whether someone wants alerts from Snapchat or another app, it's useful to be able to customize which apps can send notifications to an Apple Watch.

Change Snapchat Notification Settings On iPhone

Snapchat time sensitive notifications settings on iPhone

After enabling Snapchat notifications on the Apple Watch, it's also worth checking which notifications are being sent to the iPhone, since these are mirrored on the smartwatch. To do this, open the Settings app, tap 'Notifications' and then 'Snapchat.' There are basic options here, including choices of whether to receive notifications immediately, in a scheduled summary, and display time-sensitive notifications. Users can also choose what type of alert they want to receive on the iPhone.

Tapping 'Snapchat Notification Settings' at the bottom of the page will open the notification settings on the Snapchat app. Here, users can fine tune the notifications even further, choosing exactly which notifications they want to receive and mute. In general, it's best to limit the notifications from any app, and for Snapchat, users might want to stick to the basics, such as mentions, friends' birthdays, and more. Make sure all the relevant options are selected, and Snapchat notifications will work just fine, both on the iPhone and Apple Watch.

Source: Apple