Snapchat keeps experimenting with fun features, and with its Snapchat+ subscription it has raised the bar with extras designed for people who live by streaks and chats. In addition to options like changing the app icon or seeing who has rewatched your story —very much in line with customizing an icon pack on Android or iOS widgets—, one of the most curious new features is the Friend Solar System. Want to know which planet you are in your friends’ universe and what each one means?
What is Snapchat+’s Friend Solar System?
Imagine the classic solar system, with the Sun at the center and the planets orbiting around it; now replace it with your circle of friends on Snapchat: if you have Snapchat+, you are the Sun and your closest friends are arranged as planets according to the intensity of your interaction. The order mirrors that of the real solar system, from Mercury to Neptune, and each planet corresponds to a specific position in your best friends list.
In practice, Mercury represents the person you message and streak with the most—that is, your best friend in the app. Venus is the second spot, Earth the third, and so on up to Neptune, which identifies the eighth closest friend. The assignment is not arbitrary: Snapchat takes into account how many snaps and chats you send each other and how you keep in touch week after week.
This visualization turns something as cold as a ranking into a catchy cosmic wink, because you not only see your «orbit» with each person, but you can also discover which planet someone has placed you on within their own system. In fact, it’s a very gamified way to understand who you spend the most time with on the platform, without losing the playful aesthetic that has always characterized Snapchat.
Order and meaning of the planets on Snapchat
Mercury is the number one position on your list. It appears as a reddish planet with five red hearts around it, and symbolizes that contact with whom you share the most snaps and conversations.
Venus occupies the second place. You will see a light brown-toned planet with yellow, pink and blue hearts orbiting; it is your second best friend.
Earth is reserved for the third spot. It appears with its characteristic colors, accompanied by a moon, stars and red hearts: it is your third best friend in the app.
Mars, the fourth, is represented as a red planet with stars and purple and blue hearts; it corresponds to your fourth closest friend.
Jupiter corresponds to the fifth spot. Snapchat draws it as a planet between orange and reddish, with darker stripes and stars around it.
Saturn, with its iconic ring, marks the sixth position. Here you will see an orange planet with a ring and stars, indicating your sixth best friend.
Uranus occupies the seventh place and appears as a green planet without hearts; it is the one that ranks seventh in closeness.
Neptune closes the top with the eighth position. It is the blue “desolate” planet that identifies your eighth best friend in Snapchat’s system.
The fun is that the iconography is not random: each planet, with its colors and details, helps you recognize at a glance the «distance» that separates you from that person. And yes, the order is always the same as in the real solar system, from closest to farthest from the Sun, or in other words, from who interacts with you the most to who is in the eighth slot.
How to see your planet and what the badges mean
To enter this galaxy you need a Snapchat+ subscription. Once activated, when visiting a contact’s profile you will see a badge with a golden outline that can be Best Friends or Friends. Best Friends means that you are both in each other’s top 8; Friends indicates that you are in their top 8, but that person is not in yours.
The trick to knowing your planet is as simple as tapping the badge on their profile: the app will reveal the position you occupy in their Friend Solar System, translated to one of the planets mentioned. If nothing appears, check the subscription settings: go to your profile, tap Snapchat+ and enable the Solar System switch, because it is disabled by default for new subscribers.
Regarding the best friends order, Snapchat prioritizes interaction: the more snaps and chats you exchange consistently, the higher you’ll climb. There are eight planets, so the top is limited to eight people. And if you want to push someone to number one, there are no miracle shortcuts; try sharing more content with that person for at least two consecutive weeks so the algorithm reflects it. Ready to take off and conquer your social orbit as if you were setting up a new launcher on your phone?
