Are you seeing the gray arrow on your Recents page after Snapchatting somebody, despite still being friends with them?
Typically, the gray ‘pending’ arrow indicates that you’ve sent a Snapchat to somebody that you’re not friends with.
So, when it shows up with someone you’ve already talked to before, it can be quite confusing.
In this article, we’ll cover everything you need to know!
Why Is The Arrow Gray If We’re Still Snapchat Friends?
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but this almost certainly means that the person has unadded you.
This doesn’t necessarily mean that you were blocked, rather that they chose to remove you as a friend.
This is true even if your Snapchat is still showing ‘Delete friend’ when you visit their profile or press down on their name.
Understandably, this can be a bit confusing, as it can lead you to think that you two are actually still friends on Snapchat. However, this can be akin to sending someone a friend request, but them never actually accepting it.
You have them added, but they do not have you added.
Therefore, when you try to send them a snap or message, the gray arrow appears and the message is never actually delivered.
You can see an example of this here. I still have Sasha added (as pictured above), but she has deleted me. When I go to her profile, it still says ‘Remove Friend’
Unfortunately there’s not a whole lot you can do at that point. While deleting them as a friend and sending them a new friend request may send them a new friend request notification, it is up to them whether or not they choose to accept it.
In rare cases, some people have reported this as a glitch.
The Gray Arrow Snapchat Glitch
In rare cases, it’s possible that a gray arrow may still appear even if the two of you still have each other added.
This will usually fix itself the next time one of you sends each other a snap or message.
Additionally, completely killing the app and reopening it may solve the issue.
So how do you check if it’s a glitch or not?
One way is to see if you can still see the other person’s Snap Score.
Unless the person has a public account, your Snap Score is only visible to your friends. Although you can control who can message you, only friends are only able to see your Snap Score.
Therefore, if you can see the other person’s Snap Score, it is possible they still have you added.
Of course, there are no guarantees.
Gray Arrow FAQ
Let’s look over some other frequently asked questions involving the gray ‘Pending’ arrow on Snapchat.
What Does The Gray Arrow Mean On Snapchat?
Most commonly, this means that you’ve sent a message to someone who hasn’t added you as a friend.
Snapchat has an option within its settings to only allow messages or snaps from friends. If this option is enabled, any contact received from non-friends will appear as pending, and won’t actually be delivered to the recipient until they are added.
What Does The Gray Chat Box Mean On Snapchat?
This essentially means the same thing as the gray arrow – only it used for messages instead of photo or video snaps.
If the gray square appears, it means that the person does not have you added as a friend.
Why Is The Arrow Gray All Of A Sudden?
If the arrow is now gray but wasn’t in the past, it means that the person had you added before, but has since decided to remove you as a Snapchat friend.
In rare circumstances, it could also mean that they enabled the option for anybody to contact them, but since turned it to ‘friends only’. In this instance, you were likely never added as a friend in the first place.
Conclusion
If the arrow or chat box on Snapchat is gray, it almost certainly means that you’re not added as a friend.
This is true even if Snapchat still prompts you to remove or delete them as a friend when you tap on their name.
I hope that this article has cleared up some confusion. If there’s any questions you have or you’d like to vent, feel free to use the comment form below.
Thank you for reading!
– James McAllister
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