Eamon Burke

Hi there! Vanish Mode is basically Instagram and Messenger’s way of copying Snapchat’s disappearing chats. When you turn it on (by swiping up in a DM), the screen background goes dark, and any messages, pictures, or reactions you send will disappear once both people leave the chat. The other person will always get notified that you’ve turned it on—so no, it’s not a sneaky or hidden feature. I used it once to send a funny meme to my cousin that I didn’t want stuck in our chat forever. It was handy because the convo stayed clean. But keep in mind, if someone screenshots the chat, you’ll get a notification, but there’s no way to stop them from doing it. So while it adds a layer of privacy, it’s not bulletproof. Think of it more like a temporary fun tool than a hardcore security feature.

Check your App Library—it’s still there. Long-press the app and choose “Add to Home Screen.” If Screen Time restrictions hid it, go to Settings > Screen Time > Allowed Apps and toggle it back on.

Hey, good catch—this is actually more about iOS than Snapchat itself. Apple added “Time Sensitive” notifications in iOS 15. Apps like Snapchat can mark certain alerts as time sensitive, meaning they’ll break through Focus modes (like Do Not Disturb or Sleep) so you don’t miss them.

On Snapchat, this often applies to messages, mentions, or story replies, since those are considered more “urgent” interactions than, say, random subscription updates. It doesn’t mean the message is special or that your friend sent it as “urgent”—Snapchat just labels these as important by default.

If you don’t like it, you can control it:

Go to Settings > Notifications > Snapchat.

Toggle off “Time Sensitive Notifications.”

That way, even if you’re on Do Not Disturb, Snapchat won’t sneak past.

So the label basically means “this notification is allowed to bypass silencing.” It’s not Snapchat judging the urgency of your chat—it’s a system-level feature.

I had the same panic when I couldn’t find my Notes app. I thought I had deleted it somehow, and my first instinct was that all my data was gone. I dug through every folder, searched Spotlight, nothing. Finally, I learned that Apple lets you remove certain system apps now, and when you do, they don’t just hide—they actually uninstall. That blew my mind. What I did was open the App Store, type in “Notes,” and sure enough, it had the little download cloud icon next to it. I tapped it, and the app came back instantly, with all my old notes waiting for me. Another time, my kid had messed with my Screen Time settings and restricted Safari, so it vanished too. That one I restored by going into Settings → Screen Time → Allowed Apps and just toggling Safari back on. My point is, hidden apps on iPhone usually aren’t gone forever—it’s either a restriction, the App Library, or offloaded storage. Once you know where to look, it’s usually a 2-minute fix. Don’t panic like I did.