The first time I handed my phone to a friend to show a funny Snapchat memory, I realized that not every photo in my Memories was meant for everyone to see. There were personal screenshots, family pictures, and a few photos I simply wanted to keep private.

That’s when I discovered My Eyes Only in Snapchat. Honestly, it’s one of those features I wish I’d started using much earlier. It adds an extra layer of privacy without making your photos difficult to access.

In this guide, I’ll explain what My Eyes Only is on Snapchat, how I use it, how to set it up, and the mistakes I almost made so you don’t have to repeat them.

What is My Eyes Only on Snapchat?

My Eyes Only is a private section inside Snapchat Memories where you can store your Snaps and Stories from your Memories behind a separate 4-digit passcode or alphanumeric passphrase.

Unlike regular Memories, the content stored here cannot be viewed unless someone enters your My Eyes Only passcode. Even if another person is holding your unlocked phone, they still can’t open your hidden Snaps without that code.

When I first discovered it, I immediately moved all my private memories and personal photos and videos from my Camera Roll to My Eyes Only. It seems like creating a private photo vault without downloading any other apps.

It is particularly useful when you:

Frequently hand your phone to friends or family
Save personal photos in Snapchat
Want an extra privacy layer
Keep screenshots you don’t want others scrolling through

Simply put, regular Memories are for everyday photos I don’t mind opening quickly. My Eyes Only is Snapchat’s built-in secure folder where anything personal stays.

Why I prefer using My Eyes Only

Many people think this feature is only for hiding embarrassing photos. I completely disagree. For me, it’s about privacy, not secrecy.

These are the main reasons for using it.

It gives me peace of mind: I often hand my phone to someone to show vacation photos or funny videos. Before using My Eyes Only, I was always worried someone would accidentally swipe one photo too far. Now I don’t think about it.
Keeps my Memories organized: I don’t want screenshots, IDs, notes, or personal pictures mixed with travel memories and funny Snaps. Separating them actually makes Memories cleaner.
Feels like having a private album: Instead of downloading another vault app, Snapchat already gives me one that’s built into the app. Less clutter, less hassle.
Protects sensitive content: Whether it’s financial screenshots, important documents, or personal moments, I know they’re hidden behind another layer of security. That’s enough for my everyday use.

How to set up My Eyes Only in Snapchat

Setting it up only takes a minute.

Here’s exactly how I did it.

Open Snapchat.
Swipe up from the camera interface to open Memories.
Go to the My Eyes Only tab.
Choose Set Up, then tap Quick Setup.
Create a 4-digit passcode. Choose one you’ll actually remember. For a stronger password, select Use Passphrase at the bottom and create one.
Now, re-enter your passcode to confirm.
Read Snapchat’s warning carefully and agree to it. This is important.
Tap Continue > Finish to complete the setup. Your private vault is now ready.

How I move photos and videos to My Eyes Only

Once everything was set up, moving my private content took only a few seconds.

Here’s how.

Open Memories.
Press and hold a Snap and select as many as you want. You may also choose photos and videos from Stories and Recents from the Camera Roll section.
Now, tap the three-dot icon at the bottom left corner.
Choose Move to My Eyes Only.
Tap Move to confirm the action. Enter your passcode if prompted.

That’s it.

The selected Snap disappears from your regular Memories and moves into the protected folder. If you move media from your Camera Roll, Snapchat will prompt you to delete the original from there for extra privacy.

Note:

You can only store Camera Roll videos shorter than 10 seconds in My Eyes Only.

Save Snaps to My Eyes Only by default

One feature I appreciate is the option to save new private Snaps directly to My Eyes Only instead of first saving them in regular Memories on iOS.

If you already know certain content should remain private, saving it directly into My Eyes Only saves time and avoids forgetting to move it later. I mainly use this for personal screenshots and sensitive images.

Launch Snapchat and tap your Bitmoji at the top to access your profile.
Select the gear icon to open Settings.
Scroll down and tap Memories.
Toggle on Save to My Eyes Only by Default.

How to view Snaps and remove them from My Eyes Only

Viewing hidden Snaps is simple.

Open Snapchat and swipe up for Memories.
Move to the My Eyes Only section.
Enter your passcode.

Everything appears exactly as you saved it. From here, you can edit, remix, export, and share the Snaps.

If I ever want to move something back:

Press and hold the Snap.
Tap the three-dot icon and select Unhide Snap.
It returns to regular Memories.
Otherwise, you may select Delete Snap to remove it permanently.

The process feels surprisingly smooth. You may even select multiple Snaps together to unhide them quickly.

How to change your My Eyes Only passcode

There may come an instance when you accidentally reveal your My Eyes Only passcode to someone. However, considering the privacy of the contents, you won’t want anyone to access it using the said passcode. In that case, you can quickly change your Snapchat My Eyes Only passcode.

Here’s how.

Open Memories and go to My Eyes Only.
On the passcode page, tap Options at the bottom right.
Choose Change Passcode.
Now, enter your current passcode and create a new one.
Choose a new 4-digit passcode and re-enter it to confirm.
Agree to the terms and conditions, then tap Continue.
Finally, tap Finish.

I only recommend changing it when necessary because you’ll need to remember the new passcode immediately.

What happens if you forget your My Eyes Only passcode?

This is the one lesson I wish someone had told me sooner: Snapchat cannot recover your hidden Snaps if you forget your passcode.

Yes, you can reset the passcode. But resetting it erases everything stored inside My Eyes Only. That’s not a bug. It’s how Snapchat protects your privacy. That’s why I saved my passcode in my password manager because I never want to lose access to those memories.

Here’s how you can reset your My Eyes Only passcode if you forget it:

Head to the My Eyes Only section on the Snapchat app.
Here, tap on Options at the bottom right.
Next, tap the Forgot Passcode button, then enter your Snapchat Account password.
Agree to the terms and conditions and tap on Continue.
Now, choose a new 4-digit passcode and reenter it to confirm.
Again, agree to the terms and conditions and tap on Continue.
Tap Finish.

Your My Eyes Only folder will open as if you set it now.

A few things I wish I knew before using it

After using My Eyes Only for quite a while, here are the things that surprised me.

Privacy Doesn’t Mean Backup: If a memory is truly important, don’t rely only on Snapchat. Always keep another backup.
Organize Early: Moving hundreds of Snaps later becomes tedious. It’s easier to organize as you go or enable moving to My Eyes Only as default.
Use It for Privacy Only: Not every photo belongs in My Eyes Only. I only store content I’d genuinely be uncomfortable showing someone if they borrowed my phone. That keeps the folder manageable.

Common My Eyes Only problems and fixes

Issues	Solutions
My Eyes Only isn’t showing	Update Snapchat to the latest version and restart the app.
I can’t move my Snaps	Only saved Memories can be moved. Photos that haven’t been saved won’t appear.
Forgot my passcode	Unfortunately, hidden content can’t be recovered. You’ll need to reset the passcode, which deletes everything stored inside.
My hidden photos disappeared	First, make sure you’re signed into the correct Snapchat account. If you recently reset your passcode, previously hidden content cannot be restored.

Keep your private Snaps secure!

After using My Eyes Only a few times, I genuinely recommend it to almost every Snapchat user. It gives control over who sees my personal memories.

If you regularly save screenshots, personal photos, or anything you’d rather keep away from curious eyes, turning on My Eyes Only takes less than five minutes and can save you from some awkward moments later. However, it would be nice if Snapchat added a way to recover the forgotten passcode for users who wish to stick to the original passcode.

What do you think about this feature? Let me know in the comments below!

Read more: