Create a Snapchat account without a phone number

Snapchat's sign-up asks for a phone number by default, but it has a button to skip that and use an email instead. Snap's own help center documents it, so this is not a workaround.

Can you make a Snapchat account without a phone number?

Yes. When the Snapchat app asks for your phone number during sign-up, tap "sign up with email instead" and enter an email address. Snap's help page on creating an account says you can do this "if you don't want to use your phone number." You can also join with Apple on iPhone or Google on Android and the web.

That is the easy part. The decisions that matter come after, because Snap treats a verified phone number differently from almost any other app. All of this was checked against Snap's help center on November 2, 2026.

Sign up for Snapchat with an email, step by step

These are Snap's documented steps, with the email branch filled in.

Download Snapchat from the App Store or Google Play and open it.
Tap Sign Up.
Enter your name and tap Sign Up & Accept, then enter your birthday. Snap's minimum age page says the minimum is 13, with some regional variations, and that in some places you may need to verify your age.
Create a username. Snap warns you "can only change your username once a year, so choose wisely."
Choose a password. Snap recommends 10 characters or longer.
On the phone number screen, tap "sign up with email instead" and enter your email address.
Skip or allow contact access. Snap offers to read your contacts to find friends. You can say no.
Verify your email in the app. Open Settings (the gear on your profile). An unverified address shows in red. Tap it and Snap sends a verification email. Snap's email page notes that "email verification is only supported in the app at this time and cannot be done via the web."

Do step 8 the same day. Snap's verification help page says: "You need access to at least one verified contact method (email or mobile number) to verify your account. This verified contact method is how you will be able to reset your password if you forget it." On an email-only account, that verified email is your way back in.

Signing up with Apple or Google instead

Snap's Apple and Google sign-in page says you can "use your Apple account on iOS or your Google account on Android and on the web to create a new Snapchat account." Tap Continue with Apple or Continue with Google. If that account's email matches a verified email on an existing Snapchat account, you are signed in to it. If not, "a new Snapchat account is created." Your phone status then follows whatever the Apple or Google account has.

Why Snapchat asks for your number

Snap answers this directly on Why does Snap ask for my phone number?. It lists four reasons:

Reason in Snap's words	What it means for you
"Account security"	Used for verification and two-factor authentication
"Stay updated"	Snap "may text you with account alerts and updates, pending friend requests, and more"
"Find friends easily"	People with your number in their contacts can find you, unless you opt out under Mobile Number in Settings
"Ads"	"Snap may use your phone number to help personalize ads you see"

Snap adds that verification codes may arrive "via SMS or WhatsApp." If you have no wish to be found through your contact details or matched for ads that way, skipping the number at sign-up is the cleanest move.

One thing to know about the email route: it is not invisible either. Snap says, "If you have an email address associated with your account, others can find your Snapchat account using your email address by default." You can turn that off in Settings. Snap's privacy settings page also has a "Who Can See Me In Find Friends" control, and notes changes there can take up to 72 hours.

A verified phone number is hard to take back

This is the detail most guides skip, and it is the reason to decide at sign-up rather than later.

Snap's mobile number page, updated October 6, 2026, says: "While you can't completely remove your phone number once it's been verified, you can change it to a different number."

So once a number is verified on your account, your options are to keep it or swap it. Snap's security tips describe one exception: if you have a number on your account you no longer have access to and no new number to replace it, "add a passkey from settings and contact support to remove the old phone number."

Snap also states that one email and one mobile number can be verified per account, and that if the same contact detail is verified on a newer account, "the email/mobile number will be removed from the older account."

The two-factor authentication catch

On Snapchat, two-factor authentication and an email-only account do not mix. Both of Snap's 2FA guides, with SMS and with an authenticator app, say: "If you choose to enable 2FA, you must add both a mobile number and an email address to your account and keep them up to date."

That leaves you a real choice:

Stay phone-free and use a passkey. Snap calls passkeys "a safer and more secure form of authentication than passwords." Add one under Settings, My Account, Passkey, then Add Passkey. Snap notes passkeys "are rolling out slowly and may not be available to you just yet." Our guide to passkeys explains how they work.
Add a number for 2FA, knowing it stays. If you go this way, use an authenticator app for the codes and create a Recovery Code (Settings, My Account, Two-Factor Authentication, Recovery Code, Generate Code). Snap says it does "not offer support for lost Recovery Codes," and warns against emailing the code to yourself.

Either way, use a strong, unique password. Snap asks for at least 8 characters with no name, username, phone number or birthday in it.

Errors that look like a phone problem but are not

If sign-up fails, it is tempting to assume Snap wants a phone number. Snap's locked account page describes codes that have nothing to do with phones:

SS18 or SS06: "Snapchat has banned the device you're using due to abuse or repeated violations of our Community Guidelines."
SS07: your device is banned from logging in "because too many accounts have been associated with the device."

Snap says you "will not be able to create new accounts on a banned device," and that the in-app appeal is "the only legitimate way to appeal." Adding a number will not change that.

Snap also advises against temporary or disposable numbers. Its security tips say such a number "could be recycled (meaning re-assigned to someone else) at a later time and result in a compromise of your account." Its recycled number page adds that "the chances of recycling are higher if you have used a free SMS service." If you don't want to give Snap your number, the email route is the one Snap itself offers.

Frequently asked questions

Can I use Snapchat on a computer without a phone number?

Yes. Snapchat for Web runs at web.snapchat.com, and Snap says you can create an account there with Google. Email verification itself has to be done in the app.

How do I log in to Snapchat without a phone number?

Enter your username or email and your password on the login screen. If you forget the password, tap "Forgot your password?" and choose email. Snap sends a reset link to your address. You can also reset from a browser at accounts.snapchat.com.

Can I remove my phone number from Snapchat?

Not fully, once it is verified. Snap says you can change it to a different number but "can't completely remove" it. The exception Snap describes is a number you no longer have access to: add a passkey, then contact support to remove it.

Can I make two Snapchat accounts with one email?

You can sign up, but Snap says only one email can be verified per account. If you verify the same address on a newer account, it is removed from the older one, which then loses its recovery email.

Can I create a Snapchat account without a phone number or an email?

Through Apple on iPhone or Google on Android and the web, yes, in the sense that Snap gets neither from you directly. The account still rests on the email of that Apple or Google account, and Snap uses it to match you to any existing Snapchat account.

The email behind your Snapchat matters

An email-only Snapchat account depends on one thing: an inbox you will not lose. If you make a new one for it, check whether that provider wants your number. We cover Google in create a Gmail without a phone number and Microsoft in create an Outlook account without a phone number.

Secria Mail sign-up needs a name, the address you want and a password. No phone number and no card. You save a 12-word recovery phrase when you sign up, so getting back in never depends on a text message. The free plan comes with 1 GB and 2 email aliases, so you can give Snapchat an alias and keep your main address out of its Find Friends matching. The wider picture is on our page about email without a phone number.

Get a free Secria address before you tap "sign up with email instead."