Sharing snaps with your friends is a fun way to connect. Whether you snap your outfit or another installment of your cat being weird, Snapchat Stories allow you to share key moments in your day with friends and the broader Snap community.

Snapchat is taking Stories to a whole new level with Shared Stories, which allow your friends and their friends to add to your Story.

This article will give you the lowdown on what Shared Stories are, and show you how to create and contribute to a Shared Story, so you can join in on the fun.

You already know how Snapchat Stories work. Shared Stories build on the app's Custom Stories feature, which allows your friends to contribute to a Story you shared.

But Snapchat's Shared Stories feature takes it a step further by allowing your friends to also add their friends and contacts to your Story, thereby creating a thread of Stories from the one you initially shared.

The Shared Stories feature was announced in a Snapchat blog post in May 2022, which stated:

With this next generation Story, we're hoping to help Snapchatters turn shared moments into shared memories.

The social media app is known to add features that improve the overall user experience. For instance, in February 2022, it finally listened to users and rolled out the ability to let you change your Snapchat username.

How to Start a Shared Story on Snapchat

It's easy to start a Shared Story on Snapchat. Follow the steps below to get started:

  1. Open the Snapchat app on your phone.
  2. Tap your Avatar in the top-left corner of the screen.
  3. In the My Stories tab, tap + New Story followed by New Shared Story.
  4. Next, select the Friends you want to add to your Shared Story, then tap Create Story at the bottom of the screen.
  5. Snapchat will now ask you to Name Your Story. When you're finished, tap Done.
  6. Now tap Add to [Your Name]'s Shared Story and take a picture or video as you normally would. You can then tap + More Friends to add them, or upload your media by tapping the Arrow in the bottom-right corner.

That's all it takes. Your friends can now add their own snaps to your Shared Story and invite more friends to contribute.

How to Join a Shared Story on Snapchat

Adding to a friend's Shared Story is a straightforward process. Here's how:

  1. Tap your Avatar in the top-left corner of the screen.
  2. Under the Shared Stories tab, tap Add to [Your Friend]'s Shared Story.
  3. Take a picture or video, then tap the Circle at the bottom of the screen.
  4. Now tap + More Friends in the bottom-left of the screen and select the Friends you want to add from the list that appears.
  5. Finally, tap the Arrow in the bottom-right corner of the screen to upload.

That's how straightforward it is to add a snap to a Shared Story. The contacts you've selected will follow the same process to contribute to your friend's Shared Story.

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Snapchat has designed Shared Stories to keep you safe. As it forms part of its Stories feature, any Shared Story you upload will disappear after 24 hours. All content is also moderated through Snapchat's built-in technology and community review tools.

Finally, if you join a Shared Story with someone you've blocked on the app, Snapchat will give you a heads-up, so you can decide whether you'd like to continue.

This forms part of the app's overall efforts to keep you safe and free from bullying and harassment. It's the reason why Snapchat banned anonymous messaging from third-party apps in March 2022.

Snapchat Is Giving Users More Ways to Connect

Social media is all about connecting with friends and engaging with others in fun and creative ways. Snapchat's Shared Stories feature makes that possible.

It allows friends and strangers alike to connect through a single Story, thereby allowing you to tap into the platform's broader community of users.

This can lead to new friendships being formed, as users could find they have certain things in common—be it their sense of humor or shared interests.