Saw a little planet badge on someone’s profile and had no clue what it was? Totally normal. It’s part of a Snapchat Plus thing called the Friend Solar System and once you get the basic idea it actually makes a lot of sense. Here’s what’s going on.
So What Are Snapchat Planets?
Short version: you’re the Sun. Your top eight friends on Snapchat become planets orbiting around you. The closer they sit to you the more you interact with them on the app.
The planet order matches the real solar system. Mercury is first and closest, then Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune in that order. So your Mercury is basically your number one person on Snapchat. Your Neptune made the top eight but is the least active of the group.
One thing that trips people up though. The ranking isn’t mutual. You might be someone’s Mercury while they sit at Jupiter in yours. Each solar system is built from that person’s own data so the positions don’t mirror each other.
What Each Planet Actually Means
- Mercury: Your closest friend on Snapchat. The one you snap and chat with more than anyone. Red planet with five red hearts around it.
- Venus: Second closest. You talk a lot just slightly less than Mercury. Light brown planet with yellow, pink and blue hearts.
- Earth: Third. Regular back and forth, solid connection. Blue and green planet with a moon, stars and red hearts.
- Mars: Fourth. You stay in touch but not as consistently. Red planet with purple, blue and red hearts and stars.
- Jupiter: Fifth. Comfortable friendship but pretty low-maintenance on Snapchat. Large orange planet with pink and yellow stars.
- Saturn: Sixth. Less frequent contact these days. Orange planet with a ring and pink and blue stars.
- Uranus: Seventh. Occasional interaction but still made your top eight. Green planet with no hearts.
- Neptune: Eighth. The least active among your top eight. Deep blue planet with a Bitmoji sitting on top.
How Does Snapchat Actually Rank Them?
Snapchat doesn’t publish the exact formula but the logic isn’t hard to read. Snap someone often, reply fast, keep streaks going and react to their stories. Do that consistently with one person and they’ll end up close to Mercury in your system.
Pull back on the conversation and they drift outward. It’s not fixed either so things shift around automatically as your habits change. No manual input needed from you.
Worth knowing: profile views have zero effect on the ranking. It’s strictly down to active interaction. Snapping, chatting, story reactions and streaks. That’s it.
How to Actually See Your Friend Solar System
It’s turned off by default so you have to switch it on yourself first. Even if you’ve had Snapchat Plus for a while it won’t show up until you enable it.
- Open Snapchat and tap your profile icon or Bitmoji at the top left.
- Tap the Snapchat+ banner near the top of your profile.
- Find Solar System or Friend Solar System and toggle it on.
- Now open a friend’s profile and look for a gold outlined badge that says Best Friends or Friends.
- Tap the badge and you’ll see which planet you are in their solar system.
Best Friends badge means you’re both in each other’s top eight. Friends badge means they’re in yours but you’re not in theirs.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q – Do you need Snapchat Plus to see the planets?
Yes, it’s Plus only. Free users can’t access the Friend Solar System at all. Snapchat Plus runs about $3.99 a month.
Q – Can my friends see which planet they are in my solar system?
Only if they’re also on Snapchat Plus. If they are, they can tap your profile and check their own planet. They can only see their own position though, not where anyone else sits.
Q – Why isn’t the planet feature showing up for me?
Three things to check. Make sure it’s enabled in your Snapchat Plus settings, confirm your subscription is still active and check your app is up to date. Usually one of those three is the issue.
Q – Can I move someone to a closer planet manually?
Nope. Snapchat’s algorithm handles the whole thing automatically. If you want someone closer just snap and chat with them more regularly and they’ll move over time on their own.
Q – Should I be worried if someone ends up as Neptune?
Not really. Neptune just means you don’t interact with them much on Snapchat specifically. Someone can be one of your closest friends in real life and still land on Neptune if you barely use the app together. It’s a usage tracker, not a feelings tracker.
Q – Does any of this affect my streaks or messages?
No. The planet feature is purely visual. It doesn’t touch your streaks, your chats or anything else about how Snapchat actually functions. It’s just a way to see your activity patterns.
One Last Thing
Mercury means you’re constantly talking to that person. Neptune means they made the cut but the interaction is pretty light. The whole thing updates automatically so it’s always showing your current patterns not some old snapshot. And just to repeat because it genuinely surprises people: your position in someone else’s solar system has nothing to do with how they rank in yours. Totally separate data.