Dazed MENA Unpacks: Snapchat’s Ludicrous Popularity in Saudi Arabia

Every day, Shrooq Mohammed Iqbal taps into Snapchat to share updates about her daily life and message her friends. More than a decade after she started using the social media app, it’s become an indispensable part of her daily routine. 

“It’s an easy way to stay connected with friends without feeling pressured to post polished content like on other platforms. Plus, I love using it for quick updates or checking out friends’ stories,” the 27-year-old marketing manager from Jeddah told Dazed. 

Shrooq is not alone — she’s one of 22 million people in Saudi Arabia who rely on Snapchat, accounting for more than two-thirds of the entire population. The app has become part of Saudi Arabia’s modern cultural identity, trumping all other social media platforms in the country. While Instagram boasts more than 16m KSA users, something about Snapchat’s features really seems to resonate with the Kingdom. Not only does Saudi Arabia have the highest Snapchat usage among Arab and Gulf countries, but it also ranks among the top five biggest nations of Snapchat users in the world. 

Those figures look even more impressive on a granular level: 90% of 13 to 34-year-olds living in Saudi Arabia rely on the app, and users in the Kingdom open it an average of 50 times a day — more than any other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) nation. In short, Saudis love to snap. 

But why is this interesting? Launched in the United States and globally released in 2011, Snapchat gained popularity in the first few years due to its unique messaging features, filters, and temporary stories. However, this appeal was relatively short-lived in some parts of the world. By 2024, platforms like Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok had far surpassed Snapchat’s monthly global user numbers. Arguably shady tactics surrounding the ‘borrowing’ of Snapchat’s temporary stories may have helped fuel the rise of the world’s current social media giants. 

While users around the world have gravitated to other social media apps, the same can’t be said for Saudi Arabia. For years, it’s remained the champion of the Kingdom’s social media landscape—but the question is, why? 

Saudi Arabia’s youthful demographic may give us our first clue. With 63% of the population under 30, are we really that surprised they’re embracing technology and all the apps that come with it? No, of course not. But then again, many MENA countries show a similar trend: 63% of the Jordanian population and half of Moroccans are also under 30, and the same can’t really be said for them. So, there must be more driving Snapchat’s singular popularity in Saudi Arabia.

For Mohamed Labidii, 23, the appeal lies in the app’s focus on privacy. “Snapchat is a private app,” the Saudi-based travel content creator told Dazed. While he prefers to use Instagram to promote his work and photography publicly, he feels Snapchat offers better security when it comes to communication. “If you want to post private content, it’s gonna be Snapchat,” he explained. Faisal Alotaibi, 41, who works in tourism, echoed similar sentiments. He said: “It’s very popular here because you don’t have to put your name or show your phone number to be known. So you could create a personality, and people do not know who you are exactly.”

In fact, everyone who spoke to Dazed about Snapchat’s popularity in the Kingdom stressed privacy was one of its biggest advantages. Unlike the public portfolios you’ll find on Instagram, Snapchat’s focus on temporary posts and messaging seems to speak to a nation where privacy is crucial. “Delete is our default 👻,” Snapchat Support states. “This means most messages sent over Snapchat will be automatically deleted once they’ve been viewed or have expired.” Users can delete messages as soon as they’ve been read and set timeframes on their disappearing posts, allowing them to control who sees what and how long it’s available. 

Of course, it’s no secret that screenshotting Snapchat posts also sends a notification to the sender—an added layer of privacy that other apps have been unable to replicate. “I never seen it before in another app, like if you’re just gonna take a screenshot, the app is going to send a notification to the other person,” Mohamed added. The feature helps reassure people that their conversations and posts stay private, as intended.

Having enhanced control over who sees what on social media is crucial to a region where social reputation and family honour are still highly valued. The app has ultimately earned Saudi users’ trust as a safe space, which is particularly impactful for women who feel more confident expressing themselves. “I appreciate that Snapchat has safety features like private stories, and one-time pictures or videos without saving. It feels like a private space where I have control over my interactions,” Shrooq added. “When I’m with family and friends, I use my private one because we wear hijab, and the private story secures my privacy.”

The thing is, Snapchat in KSA is actually less about ‘secret’ conversations and more about true freedom of expression. “I love to talk about my feelings and record myself with a video and send it to my friends and the people I want to share these thoughts with,” Raneem Alamoudi, a 28-year-old architect, added. Until last year, she used the app daily but has started to prefer other apps like Instagram and TikTok. Still, she values how Snapchat allowed her to express herself authentically. She added: “I think it’s helpful in this way where I can share how I feel, showing my facial expressions as well, you know? And it helped me talk in front of the camera to my audience.”

Family values are also incredibly important in KSA, so Snapchat is helping to bridge a generational gap while communicating with family members. “It’s like a digital majlis (social gathering) where people share parts of their day in a way that feels very local and relatable,” Shrooq added, pointing to Snapchat’s cultural significance as a digital variation of a space to come together. As well as group conversations, it’s equally valued for one-on-one discussions, offering real-time updates on personal moments. “I have some things I share with everybody, some only with the family. So if we are in a family meeting and I am with my family, my mother, my sisters, I make a video. If there is a nice moment, then I send it only to the group of the family,” Faisal explained. Raneem similarly added that the app helps her stay connected. “When you record your daily vlogs on a daily basis, and people react to that, that keeps the connection. That keeps us talking and connecting and communicating.”

There’s also the element of romance. While the kingdom’s dating scene has evolved in recent years, the country’s conservative undertones mean most still prefer to keep their dating lives private. Saudi users are 2.2x more likely to use Snapchat to express who they really are compared to other apps. So, it’s no wonder that the social media landscape helps facilitate personal and secure exchanges by those looking for the right match. 

Despite a focus on genuine connections, many users also still hide behind filters — which leaves you wondering how ‘authentic’ things really are. In fact, more than 85% of daily users in MENA (including Saudi Arabia) use augmented reality (AR) lenses through the app. While filters are an element of this, there’s also a more practical application of newly emerging AR technology. It’s helping users try virtual outfits and enhance shopping experiences, among other digital and physical world combinations. 

It’s also become a go-to for people wanting to check what’s happening in the area. “We like to say, if it’s happening in the Kingdom, chances are it’s on Snapchat,” Snap’s regional business lead Abdulla Alhammadi told Arab News earlier this year. There are even specially tailored features for the Saudi market and the region’s major events. For instance, for the last three years, Snap’s AR-powered Ramadan Mall has helped users celebrate the Muslim holiday by combining shopping and augmented reality. During this time, engagement with Snapchat across the Kingdom exceeded a whopping 210 million uses a day, while helping shoppers to venture into real-life malls and browse shops through an immersive app experience. 

Beyond social connections and modern-day shopping functions, Snapchat’s ties to Saudi Arabia also run pretty deep. Six years ago, Saudi Prince Al-Waleed Talal sat down with Snapchat’s CEO and invested $250m—the world’s most significant single investment in the app. Then in 2022, the Kingdom’s Ministry of Culture teamed up with Snapchat to help promote AR talent and encourage more content creation in KSA. Promotions of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman appear to be encouraged through the platform, and one 2023 report claims the Kingdom’s security operatives may monitor Snaps. 

Not only is the nation heavily invested in Snapchat, but the app can also help content creators earn big money.  According to some records, Snapchat’s ad reach within Saudi Arabia is around 79.4%—one of the world’s highest, unlocking a lucrative opportunity for marketers, brands, and content creators. Forget Instagram reels and TikToks—frequent Snapchat posters can cash in on massive payouts that are drawing more and more to the app. And, of course, those famous faces and big brands help to encourage others to use the app, too. 

“Something special in Saudi Arabia is that influencers use it, and there are some influencers that only use Snapchat,” Faisal explained. Content creators are undoubtedly capitalising on the opportunity to monetise their presence on Snapchat, appealing to fans eager to take a look at their ‘authentic’ private lives away from traditional social media and carefully curated profiles.

But while Snapchat is the go-to for most Saudi nationals, it can take some time for people who come from overseas. With foreigners making up 40% of Saudi Arabia’s population, they’re almost guaranteed to be asked for their Snapchat handle soon after arriving. Australian national Cait Stephens, 31, has lived in KSA since this summer and was surprised by its popularity. “Whenever I would meet and get along with a local, they would ask for my Snapchat,” she said. “I quickly realised it is massive here. One of my friends even got asked for her Snapchat from one of her HungerStation delivery drivers!” 

Several months into her life in the Kingdom, Stephens has yet to give in and download the app, but she has a feeling she may eventually have to do so. “⁠⁠I never would have thought to download and use Snapchat while living in Australia as none of my friends or family used it – until I got married, and surprisingly, my husband’s family use it daily. I found that strange, and I guess I’ll have to eventually get into using it for them,” she continued. “They pretty much exclusively use it to share cute and funny videos of the kids in the family.”

The bottom line is that Snapchat is a cultural phenomenon in Saudi Arabia. It’s become somewhat of a giant social sanctuary in the Kingdom thanks to its appealing features and focus on temporary posts— and people love it. But what does this tell us about the direction of social media? 
Saudi users are ultimately rewriting the rules of social media engagement by focusing less on public curation and more on authentic connections — and that’s something we can all learn from. While the rest of the world may still yearn for likes, followers, and perfect feeds, most Snapchat users in the Kingdom are focusing on something different. Something real. A social media platform that’s not necessarily about visibility and growth but more about intimacy, trust, and maybe even freedom.