How to screenshot on Snapchat without being detected

Oh, Snapchat — love of my life, queen of wasting time, protector and keeper of the almighty screenshot.

When Snapchat first started, one of its biggest selling features was that no matter what snaps you sent out — scandalous, saucy, sexy, silly, stupid, or otherwise — recipients would not be able to screenshot or store your snap without your knowledge (raise your hand if you and your significant other have ever had a fight over screenshotting snaps. Just me? Oh … OK, then … awkward).

Quite literally since the first day the app launched, there have been people trying to get around Snapchat's anti-screenshot feature any way they can, and they're absolutely not alone. It seems like almost everyone is asking the same question: How the hell can I screenshot on Snapchat without being detected (and then looking like a total creep)?

Here are a few ways that you may be able to get away with questionable-quality screenshots in Snapchat without being detected (note the may in that sentence) and one sure-fire way to screenshot in super-secret.

Just use another phone

If you're really desperate to capture and preserve someone else's snap, pick up your tablet or your friend's phone to capture the snap-tastic footage.

Don't bother taking pictures, but, rather, record a video of the snap. Be sure to start recording before you tap on the snap to open it so you catch the whole thing.

When you "screenshot" Snapchats this way, your quality isn't going to be great. It all depends on whether you can keep your hands steady enough to capture decent footage, and the quality of the phone's camera you're using to record the snap.

Delay the screenshot notification

Simply load up Snapchat, go to the snap you want to open and make sure it loads completely (you can tell a snap is loading if the icon beside a name isn't a solid square, but more like a little swirl). Turn off your WiFi, your Bluetooth, your cellular data and everything else that keeps your phone connected, and then turn on Airplane Mode. Then, go back to that snap, tap on it, and take your screen shots.

The next part is cucial if you don't want to be caught screen shotting: immediately after taking your screen shots, press and hold the power button until the power-off screen appears. Then press and hold the home button and in a matter of seconds, your phone will have essentially restarted, the Snapchat you took screenshots of reloaded back to normal as if you had never opened it in the first place.

If you don't press and hold the home button, this technique just delays the screenshot notification that the other person would receive. The person who's been screenshotted shouldn't receive a pop-up notification that someone's screenshotted their snap, and shouldn't see Snapchat's screenshot indicator (a double-arrow icon) for a few minutes.

To be fair, if the person you're screenshotting is super unobservant, then you could probably get away with screenshotting their snaps! But beware – they may figure out later down the line what you've done.

QuickTime Screen Capture

QuickTime's screen capture feature is probably the only guaranteed way to capture high-quality Snapchat videos or pictures. It isn't the simplest technique to use, but it's for sure the most efficient!

All you have to do is connect your iPhone to your computer, open up QuickTime player, and choose File » New Movie Recording in the menu bar. Once the screen loads, hover your mouse beside the recording button. Clicking the small arrow that appears will show different recording options; you want to choose your phone as the Movie Recording input. It's typically near the top of the list.

You'll know it's working when your phone screen literally appears as-is on your computer screen. All that's left is to hit record, go to Snapchat, and start recording all the snaps and stories you want!

The quality from the QuickTime screen capture is really phenomenal, so you can pause and play snaps, pick the perfect images to screen capture, and much more.

How do you #SecretSnapchatScreenshot?

Is there a technique you've used for secret Snapchat screenshots that works like a charm? Let us know your pro tips for creepin' and we'll be sure to try them out!

Updated June 2019: Every option in this article is still the best of the best. Have any suggestions? Comment down below!