China and Iran block Snapchat along with most foreign social apps, and Russia has blocked it since October 2025, citing terrorism and fraud. Elsewhere, limits have mostly hit features, such as calls, or under-16s.
Every day we open Snapchat from inside 24 countries, mostly over home broadband, and record
where it’s blocked, since when and how.
3 of 24tested countries with a confirmed block of Snapchat
Blocked in China, Iran and Russia. 24 of 24 results confirmed in the last 48 hours.
Blocked means the networks we test there failed to open www.snapchat.com, twice, while it opened elsewhere.
“Turned away by the site” means Snapchat itself refused visitors from that country.
* First observed on this date: the block may be older. Older results are excluded from current totals.
Background
Where Snapchat is restricted, and why
In China and Iran, Snapchat falls under wider bans on foreign social media: Freedom House lists it with Facebook, YouTube and other platforms blocked in China, and with Facebook, TikTok, X and YouTube among those blocked or filtered in Iran. Snap told investors in 2017 that Google, which then ran its servers, was restricted in China, and that it didn’t know whether it could enter that market on terms the government would accept.
Russia went from fines to a block. It fined Snapchat 1 million roubles in July 2022 for not storing Russian users’ data in Russia, and blocked it from 10 October 2025. Roskomnadzor confirmed the block only on 4 December 2025, hours after restricting Apple’s FaceTime, saying Snapchat was used to organise terrorist acts, recruit people for crimes and commit fraud.
In the Gulf, restrictions have hit features rather than the app. Snapchat’s voice and video calls were blocked in the UAE as soon as they launched in April 2016, as only licensed operators may offer internet calls there. And in September 2017 Snap removed Al Jazeera’s channel from Discover in Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain after government requests, saying it was complying with local laws and preferred restricting content by country to removing it worldwide.
Snapchat was among 26 platforms Nepal blocked in September 2025 for not registering with its communications ministry, and the order was withdrawn days later, after deadly protests. Australia went further for younger users: since its under-16 social media law took effect on 10 December 2025, Snapchat has had to keep Australians under 16 from having accounts.
Key dates
Australia’s social media age limit takes effect: Snapchat must stop Australians under 16 from having accounts.
Russia blocks Snapchat, citing terrorism, recruitment for crimes and fraud; Roskomnadzor confirms the block only on 4 December.
Nepal blocks Snapchat for not registering with its communications ministry, then withdraws the order days later after deadly protests.
Russia fines Snapchat 1 million roubles for not storing Russian users’ data in Russia.
Snap removes Al Jazeera’s Discover channel in Saudi Arabia after a government request, and in the UAE and Bahrain days later.
Snapchat’s new voice and video calls are blocked in the UAE as soon as they launch.
Get past a block
Snapchat blocked where you are?
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History
Changes for Snapchat
No confirmed changes since monitoring began on 29 Sep 2026. When a block appears or lifts, and a re-check on several machines agrees, it shows up here.
Method
How we test
Test machines on the two biggest home-internet providers in most countries open the homepage every day.
A failure counts only when it happens twice on the same network, while the site opens from other countries.
A change is published only after re-checks a few hours later and again the next day, on several machines per provider, confirm it. It’s dated from the first sighting.
Test machines caught getting around blocks, through a VPN or a filter-dodging tool, are set aside.
We test websites, mostly over home broadband. Apps, calls and mobile networks can behave differently.
China and Iran block it along with most foreign social apps, and Russia has blocked it since October 2025. Nepal blocked it for a few days in September 2025. Elsewhere, restrictions have targeted features rather than the whole app, such as Snapchat calls in the UAE, which were blocked when they launched in 2016.
Is Snapchat Banned in Iran?
Yes. Freedom House lists Snapchat among the platforms blocked or filtered in Iran, along with Facebook, TikTok, X and YouTube, the audio app Clubhouse and the messaging apps Viber, Telegram and Signal.
Can Under-16s Use Snapchat in Australia?
No. Since 10 December 2025 Snapchat has been one of the age-restricted platforms that must stop Australians under 16 from having accounts. A platform that seriously breaches the law faces a fine of up to 49.5 million Australian dollars. Messaging apps such as WhatsApp and Messenger aren’t covered.
