Resize Image for Snapchat Geofilter

Designing Images for Snapchat's Full-Screen Canvas

Snapchat's interface is built around full-screen vertical content. Every Snap, Story, and ad fills the entire phone display, which means your images need to match the device screen — 1080x2340 pixels for modern phones (approximately 9:19.5 ratio), though Snapchat's standard design canvas is 1080x1920 (9:16) with safe zones that account for taller displays. Geofilters, the most common static image format on Snapchat, use the 1080x2340 dimension to cover the full overlay area on current devices.

Geofilters are transparent PNG overlays that users apply to their Snaps based on location. The design rules are strict: your geofilter must be a PNG with a transparent background, under 300KB in file size, and at exactly 1080x2340 pixels. Snapchat rejects uploads that miss any of these requirements. The transparent background is non-negotiable because the geofilter sits on top of the user's photo or video — any opaque background would cover the underlying content entirely.

Creating a geofilter that meets the 300KB limit requires careful image optimization. A 1080x2340 PNG with complex graphics, gradients, or photographic elements can easily exceed 1MB. The key is that most of your geofilter canvas should be transparent — the actual design elements (border graphics, text, logos) should occupy no more than 25% of the total area. Snapchat enforces this visually: designs that cover too much of the screen get rejected during review. Use Pixotter's compress tool to reduce the file size of your finished PNG while preserving the transparency and crisp edges that geofilter designs require.

Transparency in PNG files is handled through the alpha channel, and Snapchat's renderer respects partial transparency (semi-transparent effects, drop shadows, gradient fades). This gives you creative flexibility — soft edges, glow effects, and translucent overlays all work. But each transparency effect adds to file size. A geofilter with heavy drop shadows and gradient borders will be significantly larger than one with flat, solid-color elements. If your design exceeds 300KB after compression, simplify the transparency effects before reducing image quality.

Snapchat's ad platform has separate image specifications from organic content. Snap Ads (single image or video) use 1080x1920 at 9:16, which is slightly shorter than the geofilter canvas. Story Ads that appear in the Discover feed use 360x600 tile images for the preview card, with 1080x1920 for the full ad creative. Collection Ads display a header image at 1080x1920 with smaller product tiles below. The consistent thread is that Snapchat is a vertical-first platform — landscape images have no natural home here.

The file format landscape on Snapchat is limited. Organic Snaps taken within the app are always JPEG. Geofilters must be PNG (for transparency). Ad creatives accept JPEG and PNG. Snapchat does not accept WebP, AVIF, or GIF for any image placement. If your source images are in a modern format, convert them to PNG or JPEG before preparing them for Snapchat. For geofilters specifically, PNG is the only option — and it must include an alpha channel for transparency. Our PNG vs WebP comparison explains the trade-offs between these formats for other use cases.

Profile images on Snapchat use Bitmoji avatars by default, but you can set a custom profile photo. The profile photo is circular (like TikTok and Instagram) and displays at various sizes depending on context — from tiny icons in chat lists to larger displays on your profile page. Upload a square image at least 320x320 pixels. Snapchat does not officially publish a maximum or recommended resolution for profile photos, but 500x500 covers all display contexts well. Keep your subject centered to account for the circular crop.

Snapchat Spotlight, the platform's TikTok competitor, uses the standard 9:16 vertical format. Spotlight thumbnails are auto-generated and cannot be customized with a separate image upload. However, if you are preparing a cover frame for your Spotlight submission, design it at 1080x1920 with key content in the center — Spotlight's browse grid crops vertically like TikTok's profile grid.

File size limits vary by placement. Geofilters enforce 300KB strictly. Regular Snaps sent through the app are compressed by Snapchat's camera pipeline and do not have a user-facing limit. Ad creatives allow up to 5MB for images. For geofilters, getting a detailed design under 300KB is the real challenge — compress your PNG aggressively, reduce color palette complexity, and keep transparent area maximized. For a broader guide on shrinking images without destroying quality, see how to reduce image size.

Snapchat Image Dimensions (2026)

Notes: Geofilters have the strictest requirements — exact dimensions, PNG with transparency, and a hard 300KB limit. All other placements are more forgiving on file size but require vertical orientation. Snapchat does not support WebP, AVIF, or GIF uploads for any image type.