Snapchat planets are part of the Friend Solar System, a feature exclusive to Snapchat+ subscribers. Your eight closest friends are each assigned a planet, following the real solar system order from Mercury to Neptune. Mercury represents your number one best friend, while Neptune is your eighth. You are the Sun. The closer a planet is to the Sun, the more you interact with that friend through Snaps, chats, and story reactions.
If you opened a friend’s Snapchat profile and spotted a small planet badge with a gold ring around it, you probably had one question: what does that mean? Snapchat planets are one of the most talked-about features of Snapchat+, and understanding them tells you exactly where you stand in someone’s closest friendships. This guide explains every Snapchat planet meaning, the correct planet order, how the feature works, and what the different badges actually tell you.
What Are Snapchat Planets?
Snapchat planets are a visual friendship ranking system built into the Friend Solar System feature on Snapchat+. In this system, you are the Sun, and your top eight best friends are represented as planets orbiting around you. The concept mirrors our real solar system, using the same eight planet names in the same order.
Each planet represents a specific position in your Best Friends list. The more frequently you interact with someone through Snaps, chats, and story reactions, the closer their planet sits to the Sun. Mercury is your closest friend and Neptune is your eighth closest. The feature is available exclusively to Snapchat+ subscribers and must be enabled manually in your profile settings.
What Is the Snapchat Planet Order?
The Snapchat planet order follows the exact sequence of planets in our solar system. Starting from closest to the Sun and moving outward, the order is:
- Mercury
- Venus
- Earth
- Mars
- Jupiter
- Saturn
- Uranus
- Neptune
This order never changes. What changes is which friend occupies each position based on your recent interaction patterns. If you start snapping someone more consistently, they may move closer to Mercury over time. If interaction drops off, they may shift toward Neptune.
What Does Each Snapchat Planet Mean?
Each planet in the Snapchat Friend Solar System tells you something specific about your friendship with that person. Here is a full breakdown of all eight Snapchat planet meanings.
Mercury: Your Number One Best Friend
Mercury is the first and closest planet in the Friend Solar System, which means this person is your top best friend on Snapchat. You share more Snaps, chats, and story reactions with them than with anyone else on the platform. The Mercury badge features five red hearts. If someone sees your Bitmoji sitting on Mercury when they check your solar system, it means they hold the highest position in your best friends ranking.
Venus: Your Second Best Friend
Venus is the second planet in the Snapchat solar system, representing your second closest friend. Your interaction frequency with this person is very high, roughly 80 to 90 percent of what you share with your Mercury friend. You snap and chat with them regularly, just slightly less than your top pick. The Venus planet badge uses warm pink and yellow tones with heart icons to distinguish it visually.
Earth: Your Third Best Friend
Earth represents your third best friend in the Friend Solar System. Your interaction level with this person sits at around 70 to 80 percent of your top friendship activity. You snap them consistently and react to their stories. Earth uses familiar blue and green tones, making it one of the easier planets to recognize at a glance.
Mars: Your Fourth Best Friend
Mars is the fourth planet in the Snapchat solar system and represents a very active friendship. You exchange daily Snaps with this person, though chatting may be less frequent compared to your top three. The Mars badge uses a reddish tone and hearts. Interaction with your Mars friend typically sits around 60 to 70 percent of your highest friendship activity on the app.
Jupiter: Your Fifth Best Friend
Jupiter is the fifth planet in your Friend Solar System, representing a close friend you snap with regularly but interact with slightly less than your top four. You exchange Snaps every day and occasionally react to each other’s stories. Jupiter appears with orange and brown tones. Interaction frequency for this position is typically around 50 to 60 percent of your peak activity.
Saturn: Your Sixth Best Friend
Saturn is your sixth best friend in the Snapchat planet ranking. You and this person send Snaps to each other daily, but chatting and story reactions are less frequent. The Saturn badge uses a yellow tone with a visible ring around it, inspired by Saturn’s iconic appearance in our solar system. Interaction with your Saturn friend usually falls around 40 to 50 percent of your top friendship activity.
Uranus: Your Seventh Best Friend
Uranus is the seventh planet in the Snapchat Friend Solar System. You interact with this person consistently but less frequently than your top six friends. The Uranus badge uses a pale green tone and no hearts, unlike the inner planets. While this person still makes your top eight, your combined Snap and chat activity with them is noticeably lower than with friends closer to Mercury.
Neptune: Your Eighth Best Friend
Neptune is the eighth and final planet in the Snapchat solar system, representing your least active friendship among your top eight. This person still ranks in your Best Friends list, but you interact with them less than anyone else in your top group. Neptune uses a deep blue tone with no hearts on its badge, reflecting its position as the farthest planet from the Sun. Being someone’s Neptune is not a bad thing; it simply means there are seven other friends you interact with more often.
How Does Snapchat Decide Which Planet You Are?
Snapchat calculates your planet position based on total interaction frequency across the app, not just Snap streaks alone. Every Snap you send, every chat message you exchange, and every story reaction you leave contributes to your ranking in someone’s Friend Solar System.
A few important points about how this works:
- More Snaps and chats with a person pushes them closer to Mercury in your solar system
- Streaks contribute to the calculation, but they are not the only factor
- Planet positions update over time based on recent activity, so rankings can shift if interaction changes
- Snapchat has not publicly disclosed the exact algorithm behind planet assignment, but consistent daily interaction is the clearest driver
If you want to move up in a friend’s solar system, the best approach is simply to interact more consistently through both Snaps and chat conversations.
What Do the Best Friends and Friends Badges Mean?
When you visit a friend’s profile on Snapchat, you may see one of two badges near their name, and understanding the difference is important.
A gold-ring Best Friends badge means you are in each other’s top eight. Both of you have made it into each other’s Friend Solar System, which signals a mutual, active friendship on the platform.
A regular Friends badge without a gold ring means you are in their top eight, but they are not in yours. In other words, they interact with you frequently enough for you to appear as one of their planets, but your interaction with them is not high enough to place them in your own top eight.
Tapping on either badge will show you which planet you are in that friend’s solar system. This works as long as you have an active Snapchat+ subscription.
Do You Need Snapchat Plus to See the Planets Feature?
Yes, the Friend Solar System and all Snapchat planets are exclusive to Snapchat+ subscribers. Only users with an active Snapchat+ subscription can view planet badges and check which planet they are in a friend’s solar system.
Your friends do not need Snapchat+ for you to assign them a planet. However, if they want to check their position in your solar system, they will need their own Snapchat+ subscription to view it. The feature is also disabled by default, so new subscribers need to enable it by going to their profile, tapping the Snapchat+ banner, scrolling to the Friend Solar System option, and toggling it on.
Protect Your Privacy When Using Social Apps
Now that you understand how Snapchat tracks and ranks your friendships, it is worth thinking about how you manage your digital footprint across social platforms. When signing up for apps like Snapchat or exploring new services, using a temporary email address keeps your primary inbox free from promotional messages and app notifications. You can generate a free disposable email instantly at freemail.ai, with no sign-up required.
Frequently Asked Questions About Snapchat Planets
What does it mean if I am someone’s Mercury on Snapchat?
Being someone’s Mercury means you are their number one best friend on Snapchat. You interact with them more than anyone else on the platform through Snaps, chats, and story reactions. Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun in the Friend Solar System, which makes it the highest-ranked position in someone’s best friends list.
What does Neptune mean on Snapchat?
Neptune is the eighth and final planet in the Snapchat Friend Solar System. If someone is your Neptune, they are your eighth best friend, meaning you still interact with them enough to land in your top eight, but less frequently than your other seven closest friends. Neptune sits farthest from the Sun in the solar system, which reflects the lower interaction level.
Can my Snapchat planet position change over time?
Yes, your planet position can change. Snapchat recalculates the Friend Solar System based on recent interaction patterns. If you stop snapping or chatting with someone as frequently, they may shift to a planet farther from the Sun. Staying active and consistent in your Snaps and chats helps maintain or improve a friend’s position in your solar system.
Do both people need Snapchat Plus to see the planets feature?
No. Only the person viewing the solar system needs a Snapchat+ subscription. Your friends do not need Snapchat+ to be assigned a planet in your system. However, if your friend wants to check which planet they are in your Friend Solar System, they will need their own Snapchat+ subscription to view it.
Why can I not see a planet on my friend’s profile?
There are a few reasons this can happen. You may not have an active Snapchat+ subscription, the Friend Solar System feature may not be enabled in your settings, or neither of you may be in the other’s top eight yet. The system can also take a few days to update after you first enable it. Check your Snapchat+ settings and make sure the solar system toggle is turned on.
How many planets are there in the Snapchat solar system?
There are eight planets in the Snapchat Friend Solar System: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. This mirrors the eight planets in our real solar system. Each planet represents one of your top eight best friends, ranked from most to least interaction.