The Snapchat Planets feature - officially the Friend Solar System - is one of the most talked-about parts of Snapchat+. It places you as the Sun, and assigns your eight closest friends a planet based on how high they rank in your best-friends list. The closer the planet orbits the Sun, the closer that friend is to you.
How the Friend Solar System works
If you subscribe to Snapchat+, a small gold badge with a planet appears next to your best friends on their Friendship Profile. Tapping it reveals the Solar System and the planet that friend holds in your orbit. The ranking is based on Snapchat's best-friends algorithm: snap volume, chat frequency, and how consistently you interact.
The full planet order (1 to 8)
| Rank | Planet | Appearance |
|---|---|---|
| 1 (closest) | Mercury | Red planet with red hearts around it |
| 2 | Venus | Beige/tan planet with gold hearts |
| 3 | Earth | Blue and green planet with a moon, red hearts and a star |
| 4 | Mars | Red planet with purple stars and hearts |
| 5 | Jupiter | Orange/brown gas giant with no hearts |
| 6 | Saturn | Ringed orange planet |
| 7 | Uranus | Green planet |
| 8 (farthest) | Neptune | Blue planet, the outermost orbit |
Being someone's Mercury is the highest honour - it means you are their number-one best friend. Neptune still means you are one of their top eight, just the furthest of the group.
How to see your planet
- You need Snapchat+ to display planets, but you can be shown as a planet on a subscriber's profile without paying yourself.
- Open the chat with a friend and tap their Bitmoji to open the Friendship Profile.
- If you are one of their top 8, you will see the gold Best Friends planet badge. Tap it to see which planet you are.
What the planets do and don't tell you
The Solar System reflects your ranking of a friend, not necessarily theirs of you - friendship on Snapchat is not always symmetrical. Someone can be your Mercury while you are their Mars. The ranking also shifts over time as your interaction patterns change, so planets can move closer or farther week to week.
Planets are a Snapchat+ cosmetic insight layered on top of the older friend emojis (the gold star, yellow heart, and fire streak symbols). If you want the full map of those, see our guide to every Snapchat icon and emoji. And if you are curious what Snapchat reveals publicly versus privately, what a public profile shows breaks down the rest.