What is a Snapchat 'streak'?

It's become the social media network of choice for post-millennial digital natives, but Snapchat is an app alien to most parents.

Here's our breakdown of what a 'Snapstreak' is and how it works.

A Snapstreak involves two people sending messages back and forth for a consecutive number of days.

The number next to the fire emoji represents the number of days you've been on said Credit: ITV News

The higher the number, the higher your 'streak count' - and for many, the stronger the friendship.

Credit: ITV News

The number can go into the hundreds.

The hourglass emoji means that your snapstreak is about to end. Credit: ITV News

Users are also alerted if the streak is about to end.

The aim of getting and building up a snapstreak is to see how long user's can keep it going; it's one of a few features built into the app that turns it into a type of game.

Credit: ITV News

It's a social media phenomenon that's encouraged plenty of teenagers to boast about their streaks online.

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