What does 'Time Sensitive' mean on Snapchat notifications?
Emily Wilson
Updated on March 24, 2026
Find out what ‘Time Sensitive’ means on Snapchat notifications as the strange message appears for users this week.
Notifications are appearing on the Lock Screen as normal but have the odd text above them and users are really confused.
Read on to find out what’s going on with your Snapchat…
‘Time Sensitive’ message confuses users
The message began showing for loads of social media users on Tuesday (May 9) who took to Twitter to try and get some answers.
One person wrote: “Why are my Snapchats popping up with ‘time sensitive’ notifs?”
“Wtf is this time sensitive setting on Snapchat?” said another.
A third person added: “Since when have Snapchat notifications been time sensitive I don’t wanna see em.”
“My phone just told me a Snapchat notification was time sensitive wtf,” someone else tweeted.
What does ‘Time Sensitive’ mean on Snapchat?
Time Sensitive is a feature introduced years ago with Apple’s iOS 15 that gives some notifications a higher priority than others.
It lets messages break through certain notification blocks and is your iPhone’s way of ensuring you don’t miss any important things.
Time Sensitive notifications stay on your Lock Screen for an hour and the feature is compatible with loads of apps, like Snapchat.
You’ve received the message on Snapchat because the app has turned the feature on and thinks that message was really important.
Users can’t choose what qualifies as a Time Sensitive notification, the app decides. Many are receiving them from the user who is their best friend.
wth is time sensitive on snapchat
— jane doe (@crappii1) May 9, 2023
How to turn the feature off
If you don’t want Snapchat to send them, the feature is really easy to turn off. Here’s how to do it:
- Open your iPhone Settings.
- Scroll down to Snapchat.
- Click on Notifications.
- Toggle off Time Sensitive.
This comes as Snapchat’s My AI continues to be popular with users, a highly advanced artificial intelligence chatbot that can interact with you in a conversational way, just like a human.
