The Brief: A Snap Trap or snaptrap is a sneaky Snapchat-based method of figuring out if you're being ghosted.

Bluesquiggle
DEEP DIVE

A Snap Trap or Snaptrap refers to when someone sends a Snapchat message in order to determine if the recipient is purposefully ignoring them on another platform. The idea is that if you think you’re being ghosted, you can send a Snapchat or “snap” to the person ignoring you. If that person opens the Snapchat, it indicates that they are indeed actively ignoring you and that their phone is, in fact working.

The logic behind this is that not everyone has read receipts turned on for their messaging platforms, so it can be impossible to tell if they’ve read or seen a message. Snapchat, however, always indicates to the sender whether or not the recipient has “opened” their snap. Thus, by sending someone who appears to be ghosting you a snap trap/snaptrap, you can “trap” them into letting you know that they are receiving and then intentionally ignoring your messages.