Snapchat lives on the motto that deleting is their default. They like to keep things private as a communication platform, ensuring users can use it with the utmost confidence that their messages and pictures are deleted after they send them. They’ve taken this a step further with My Eyes Only pictures, ensuring you have the highest level of privacy and security for those.
On Snapchat, ‘My Eyes Only’ references pictures you’ve moved from your memories and stories to somewhere more private. You can only see these pictures after entering a passcode, so no one can sign on to your phone and look. However, if you forget your passcode, there’s no way to recover them.
Let’s take a closer look at My Eyes Only on Snapchat, as well as what you can use it for, how to use it, and if you can recover pictures if you forget your passcode.
What is the My Eyes Only on Snapchat?
My Eyes Only is a private section of your Snapchat that allows you to store pictures you wouldn’t want others to see. It’s accessible by going to your memories, swiping left, and entering your passcode to get to photos you’ve sent or posted on Snapchat but didn’t want to save in your regular memories.
The purpose is essentially so that you could hand your phone to a friend or family member and let them browse through your memories, but they would never be able to access these without your permission.
It’s an added layer of security to keep memories safe that you don’t necessarily want to share with the world or even your loved ones.
How to Add Snaps to My Eyes Only
If you swipe up on your camera roll, you’ll be able to access your memories. This stores all of the Snapchats you’ve posted on your story.
To add a picture or video to My Eyes Only, hold down on one of them, and then you’ll be able to move it there. It’s super easy, though also important to remember that your Snapchat memories won’t store Snaps you’ve sent to specific people or groups—only what was posted on your story.
Can You Recover My Eyes Only Pictures on Snapchat?
Of course, the risk with My Eyes Only is that it’s locked behind a passcode, and if you lose that passcode, you won’t be able to access it. So what happens in that case?
Unfortunately, if you lose your passcode and, therefore, the content in My Eyes Only, you won’t be able to recover them. However, Snapchat takes its privacy and security very seriously and prides itself on how legitimate My Eyes Only is.
Many people have contacted support in an attempt to access My Eyes Only after forgetting their passcode, and support has refused to reset it with access to previous content. However, if you lose the passcode and want to use My Eyes Only again, support does allow you to do this through the following steps:
- First, swipe left in Memories to access My Eyes Only.
- Tap Options.
- Choose Forgot Passcode.
- Follow the instructions presented to you by Snapchat.
- Finally, agree to create a new passcode.
However, you will lose all previously stored content if you do this. It will be as if you’re using My Eyes Only for the first time.
How to Remove Snapchat Memories from My Eyes Only
You can hold down on a specific Snap picture or video to remove them from My Eyes Only in the same way you added them there. They will go back to your memories.
Can I Send Pictures from My Eyes Only?
If you want to share some content from My Eyes Only with a Snap friend, there’s no way to send the picture from My Eyes Only directly. The quickest way to do this is to take a screenshot of the Snap you want to share and then send it to a Snap user in a message.
In this case, it’s always important to remember that you would no longer be the only person in possession of that content now. Even though Snapchat automatically deletes messages, there are ways the other person could save them—such as screenshotting them.
Can Anyone Access Your My Eyes Only?
The My Eyes Only can only be accessed from your own Snapchat. So even if a user wants to and can give them the passcode, granting access to another user is impossible.
Benefits of My Eyes Only
There are many benefits to the My Eyes Only feature, which Snapchat has no doubt taken into account when deciding to implement it.
Another Way to Store Memories
The My Eyes Only feature provides an easy way to store memories without giving anyone else access. This means users don’t need to have any reservations about storing memories they may not want anyone else to see, but that still means a lot to them.
Privacy
The number one benefit of My Eyes Only is undoubtedly privacy. A user can hand their phone to someone else, allowing them to use their Snapchat and even scroll through their memories without access to their private Snaps.
Disadvantages of My Eyes Only
The only real disadvantage to the My Eyes Only Snapchat feature is if a user loses their passcode, they can’t re-access it. Unfortunately, it’s hard for Snapchat to fix this, as any fix negates the privacy and security My Eyes Only offers.
For now, it’s advisable to use a passcode that’s easy to remember or write it down and store it in a very safe and inconspicuous place.
In Conclusion
Overall, My Eyes Only is a great feature that allows you to safely store private memories…for your eyes.
Unfortunately, the pictures can’t be recovered if you forget the passcode, though, which is something to bear in mind—if you can’t bear to lose the Snaps but are likely to forget the code, it may not be the best feature to use.