Snapchat Planets has introduced many creative ways to make online friendships feel more personal, but the Friend Solar System is one of its most interesting features. Instead of displaying an ordinary numbered friendship ranking, Snapchat uses planets to show how close you are to someone based on your interactions.
The Snapchat planets meaning is simple: each planet represents a position on a person’s Best Friends list. Mercury stands for the closest friend, while Neptune represents the eighth-closest friend. However, understanding whose ranking you are viewing, why planets change, and how to access the feature can sometimes be confusing.
What Is the Snapchat Friend Solar System?
The Friend Solar System is a Snapchat+ feature that visually represents a user’s top eight friends. It turns the Best Friends list into a miniature solar system in which the person whose Friendship Profile you are viewing becomes the Sun.
You appear as one of the eight planets orbiting that Sun. Your assigned planet indicates your position on that person’s Best Friends list.
For example, suppose you open Daniel’s Friendship Profile and Snapchat displays you as Mercury. This means you are currently Daniel’s number-one Best Friend. If you appear as Mars, you are likely fourth on his Best Friends list.
The important point is that the planet describes your place in the other person’s Solar System. It does not automatically tell you where that person appears in your own ranking.
Snapchat Planets Order and Meaning
Snapchat follows the real order of planets in our solar system. The closer a planet is to the Sun, the higher the friendship ranking.
| Snapchat planet | Friendship position | Basic meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Mercury | #1 | You are their closest Snapchat friend |
| Venus | #2 | You are their second-closest friend |
| Earth | #3 | You are third on their Best Friends list |
| Mars | #4 | You hold the fourth position |
| Jupiter | #5 | You are their fifth-closest friend |
| Saturn | #6 | You occupy the sixth position |
| Uranus | #7 | You are seventh in their ranking |
| Neptune | #8 | You are eighth on their Best Friends list |
1. Mercury: Number-One Best Friend
Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun, so it represents the highest possible friendship position. If you appear as Mercury in someone’s Solar System, you are their number-one Best Friend on Snapchat.
This usually means that the person interacts with you more than with anyone else through Snaps and Chats. The Mercury Friendmoji is commonly represented by a reddish planet surrounded by heart-like decorations.
Receiving the Mercury position does not necessarily mean the relationship is mutual. You could be their number-one friend while they hold a different position in your Solar System.
2. Venus: Second Best Friend
Venus represents the second position on a person’s Best Friends list. You communicate frequently and are clearly one of their closest Snapchat contacts, but another account currently occupies the first position.
The Venus design typically has warm, light-brown or beige colors with colorful hearts. Being Venus still indicates a high level of regular interaction.
3. Earth: Third Best Friend
Earth means that you are the third person in your friend’s Snapchat Solar System. Its Friendmoji is easy to recognize because the planet resembles Earth and is often shown with a Moon and decorative hearts or stars.
The third position suggests a strong Snapchat friendship. You probably exchange Snaps or messages regularly, although two other users currently have higher interaction rankings.
4. Mars: Fourth Best Friend
Mars represents the fourth position. It generally appears as a red or orange planet with friendship-themed decorations.
If you are Mars, you remain part of the person’s top eight friends, but your recent interaction level places you below Mercury, Venus, and Earth. Increasing regular and meaningful interaction may eventually move you closer to the Sun, although Snapchat does not publicly reveal the exact ranking formula.
5. Jupiter: Fifth Best Friend
Jupiter is the fifth planet in the Snapchat Friend Solar System. It is generally shown as a large orange or reddish planet with stripes and surrounding stars.
Being Jupiter means you are fifth on that user’s Best Friends list. This is still a significant position because Snapchat includes only eight accounts in the standard Best Friends group.
6. Saturn: Sixth Best Friend
Saturn represents the sixth position and can usually be identified by its famous rings. Its appearance makes it one of the easiest Snapchat planets to recognize.
A Saturn ranking means you interact often enough to remain among the person’s eight closest Snapchat contacts. However, five other users currently rank above you.
7. Uranus: Seventh Best Friend
Uranus is the seventh planet and often appears greenish or blue-green with small decorative elements around it. It means that you occupy the seventh position on the person’s Best Friends list.
Your ranking may move upward if your interaction increases. It could also disappear if other friends become more active and move ahead of you.
8. Neptune: Eighth Best Friend
Neptune is the final planet in the Friend Solar System. It commonly appears as a deep blue planet and represents the eighth position.
If you are Neptune, you are still one of the person’s Best Friends, but you are currently at the outer edge of their top-eight list. A small change in activity may move you upward or remove you from the Solar System entirely.
How Does Snapchat Decide Your Planet?
Snapchat does not publish the complete formula used to calculate Best Friend rankings. However, the system is based mainly on how frequently people Snap and Chat with one another.
Factors that may influence the ranking include:
- How often you exchange direct Snaps
- How regularly you communicate through Chat
- The consistency of recent interaction
- How your activity compares with the person’s other friends
- Changes in communication over time
Simply viewing someone’s Story is unlikely to have the same influence as directly exchanging Snaps and messages. Rankings can also change because the system compares your activity with everyone else the person communicates with.
For example, your interaction level could remain consistent, but you might move from Earth to Mars if another friend suddenly begins communicating with that person more frequently.
How to Check Your Snapchat Planet
The Friend Solar System is connected to Snapchat+, the platform’s paid subscription service. It may also be turned off by default for first-time subscribers, so users might need to enable it manually.
To check your position:
- Open Snapchat and confirm that Snapchat+ is active.
- Visit your profile and open the Snapchat+ feature settings.
- Turn on the Solar System option if it is disabled.
- Open a friend’s Friendship Profile.
- Look for a gold-ringed Best Friends badge.
- Tap the badge to view your planet in that person’s Solar System.
If no badge or planet appears, the feature may be disabled, your app may need updating, or you may not currently qualify for a visible position in that friend’s ranking.
Why Did My Snapchat Planet Change?
A changing planet is normally the result of changing interaction patterns. Snapchat updates Best Friends regularly, so these rankings are not permanent.
You might move closer to the Sun when:
- You exchange more Snaps with the person
- Your conversations become more frequent
- Other friends communicate with them less often
- Your recent activity becomes more consistent
You might move farther from the Sun when your communication decreases or when other users become more active. Moving from Mercury to Venus does not necessarily indicate a personal problem. It only means Snapchat detected a change in comparative app activity.
Is the Snapchat Friend Solar System Mutual?
Not necessarily. Friendship rankings can be different for each person.
You may be Mercury in your friend’s Solar System, meaning you are their number-one Best Friend. At the same time, that friend could be Earth in your Solar System because two other people rank above them on your list.
This is why Snapchat planets should not be treated as a perfect measurement of a real relationship. They reflect activity inside the app, not trust, emotional closeness, or the overall importance of a friendship.
Are Snapchat Planets Public?
The Friend Solar System is not designed as a public leaderboard. Other users cannot simply open your profile and view your full ranking of eight friends.
A person can view their own position through the relevant Friendship Profile when the feature and account conditions allow it. They do not receive a complete list revealing everyone else in your Solar System.
Snapchat Planets vs. Friend Emojis
Snapchat planets and Friend Emojis are related to friendship activity, but they are not identical.
Friend Emojis include symbols such as yellow hearts, red hearts, smiling faces, fire icons, and birthday cakes. They can represent mutual Best Friend status, Snapstreaks, birthdays, and other activity.
The Friend Solar System uses planets specifically to represent positions one through eight. It offers a more detailed view of ranking than a general Best Friend emoji.
Mercury means you are number one on that person’s Best Friends list. It is the closest position to the Sun and the highest friendship ranking.
Earth represents the third position. If you appear as Earth, you are currently that person’s third-closest Snapchat friend.
Neptune means you are eighth on the person’s Best Friends list. You are still in their top eight, but you occupy the final visible position.
Final Thoughts
The Snapchat Friend Solar System transforms an ordinary Best Friends ranking into a colorful planetary experience. Mercury represents the number-one position, followed by Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.
Although the feature can be entertaining, it should be viewed as a measure of recent Snapchat activity rather than a judgment about the quality of a friendship. Rankings naturally rise and fall as communication habits change. A different planet does not always mean a friendship is becoming weaker it simply shows how your app interactions compare with those of other friends.
