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Snapchat Planets are part of the Friend Solar System, a Snapchat+ exclusive feature that ranks your eight closest friends as planets orbiting around you the Sun.
Mercury is your #1 most-interacted friend. Neptune is your #8. The closer the planet to the Sun, the more you snap and chat with that person.
According to Wikipedia, Snapchat is a multimedia messaging app developed by Snap Inc. that has expanded well beyond disappearing photos into a platform with layered social features the Friend Solar System being one of the more distinctive ones.
What Are Snapchat Planets?
The concept is straightforward. Snapchat places you at the center of your own solar system.
The eight friends you interact with most through snaps and chats each get assigned a planet, following the real-world planetary order from Mercury outward to Neptune.
It is not a measure of how much someone means to you personally. It purely reflects activity inside the app.
Two people can be genuinely close friends in real life and still show up as Saturn or Uranus in each other's Solar System if they don't snap often.
The feature is exclusive to Snapchat+ subscribers. As reported by TechCrunch, Snapchat+ surpassed 25 million subscribers and has become one of the faster-growing consumer subscription services globally with the Friend Solar System remaining one of its signature features.
It works only on Android and iOS. Desktop users cannot access it. For new subscribers, it is switched off by default you need to manually enable it before anything shows up.
In practice, users commonly find the feature most useful for a quick visual check on who they interact with most, rather than as any kind of serious social ranking.
Snapchat Planets Order and Meanings
The eight planets follow the same order as our actual solar system. Each one corresponds to a specific friendship rank nothing more, nothing less.
Snapchat does not assign personality types or emotional meanings to the planets. That is worth stating clearly, because some third-party sources have invented those interpretations.
Here is what each planet actually represents:
Mercury — #1 Best Friend
Your most-interacted friend on Snapchat. Visually shown as a bright red planet surrounded by red hearts and small stars, with a Bitmoji sitting on top.
Venus — #2 Best Friend
Your second most-interacted friend. Appears as a warm beige planet with multi-colored hearts — blue, pink, yellow, and purple floating around it.
Earth — #3 Best Friend
Third in your ranking. Shown as a recognizable blue-green planet with a visible Moon orbiting it, making it easy to distinguish from the others.
Mars — #4 Best Friend
Fourth most-interacted friend. Displayed as a red-orange planet with small stars and blue and purple hearts around it.
Jupiter — #5 Best Friend
Fifth in rank. A large orange planet with reddish tints. Noticeably bigger in appearance than the inner planets.
Saturn — #6 Best Friend
Sixth most-interacted friend. The gold ring around it makes Saturn one of the easier planets to identify at a glance.
Uranus — #7 Best Friend
Seventh in rank. A green-toned planet with minimal decoration fewer hearts and stars compared to the inner planets.
Neptune — #8 Best Friend
The outermost planet and your eighth most-interacted friend. Deep blue, with subtle visual detail and no obvious sparkle or hearts.
Snapchat Planets at a Glance
|
Planet |
Rank |
Visual Description |
Interaction Level |
|
Mercury |
#1 |
Red, red hearts, stars |
Highest |
|
Venus |
#2 |
Beige, multi-color hearts |
Very High |
|
Earth |
#3 |
Blue-green, Moon visible |
High |
|
Mars |
#4 |
Red-orange, stars, hearts |
Above Average |
|
Jupiter |
#5 |
Large orange, reddish tints |
Moderate |
|
Saturn |
#6 |
Gold ring |
Below Moderate |
|
Uranus |
#7 |
Green, minimal decoration |
Low |
|
Neptune |
#8 |
Deep blue, subtle glow |
Lowest |
Best Friends Badge vs Friends Badge What the Difference Actually Means
This is where a lot of users get confused. When you visit someone's profile, you may see one of two badges.
A gold-ringed Best Friends badge means the friendship is mutual you are in their top eight and they are in yours. A Friends badge means it is one-way: you appear in their top eight, but they do not appear in yours.
Either way, tapping the badge shows you which planet you are in their Solar System. What's often overlooked is that your position in their system and their position in yours are calculated independently.
You could be their Mercury while they are your Saturn. The rankings do not mirror each other they reflect each person's own interaction data separately.
How to Enable and Use the Friend Solar System
Turning the Feature On
- Tap your profile icon in the top-left corner
- Select Snapchat+
- Go to Manage Features
- Toggle Friend Solar System on
Once enabled, the feature stays on until you switch it off. It can be disabled at any time through the same menu.
Checking Your Planet in a Friend's Solar System
- Open the friend's profile
- Tap their Best Friends or Friends badge
- A screen appears showing which planet represents your position
- The planet shown corresponds directly to your rank in their top eight
Your own Solar System rankings are private. Friends cannot see your list or your rankings only you can.
How Snapchat Calculates Your Planet Ranking
What Snapchat Officially Confirms
Snapchat's own support documentation states that rankings are based on who you "Snap and Chat with the most." That is the confirmed signal frequency of snaps sent and chats exchanged.
Rankings update periodically as your activity changes. A friend you stop snapping will gradually
move further from your Sun.
What Is Commonly Observed but Not Officially Detailed
Users and community observers commonly report that maintaining Snapstreaks appears to support consistent ranking positions, and that story reactions may contribute as a secondary signal.
These patterns are widely noted but Snapchat has not officially confirmed specific weightings for individual actions.
What this means practically: if your planet position with someone drops, it almost always reflects a genuine drop in how often you two snap and chat not a technical glitch.
It is worth noting that Snapchat has not publicly detailed its full ranking algorithm. Any source that lists precise weights for specific actions such as reply speed or video snap priority is stating observations, not confirmed facts.
Snapchat Planets vs Snap Score vs Streaks
These three features get mixed up more than you might expect. They measure entirely different things.
|
Feature |
What It Measures |
Who Can See It |
Requires Snapchat+? |
|
Planets (Friend Solar System) |
Relative interaction rank among your top 8 friends |
Only you |
Yes |
|
Snap Score |
Your overall activity across the entire app |
You and your friends |
No |
|
Streaks |
Consecutive daily snap exchanges with one specific friend |
Both users in the streak |
No |
Snap Score goes up every time you send or receive a snap from anyone. Streaks track daily consistency with one person.
Planets track relative closeness across your eight most active friendships. They are related concepts, but not interchangeable.
Privacy — Who Can See Your Snapchat Planets?
Your Solar System is visible only to you. Friends cannot see your rankings, your list, or which planet they are assigned in your system.
When you tap someone's badge to see your own planet position in their system, that action is also private.
If you disable the feature, your rankings disappear entirely and no one including you can view them until you switch it back on.
What's also worth knowing: Snapchat's ranking system uses interaction frequency only. It does not read the content of your private messages or snaps.
The feature calculates how often you communicate, not what you communicate.
Conclusion
Snapchat Planets rank your eight most-interacted friends as planets in your personal solar system Mercury being closest, Neptune furthest.
It is a Snapchat+ feature, private by default, and based purely on snap and chat frequency. A fun way to see who you actually talk to most.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need Snapchat+ to use Snapchat Planets?
Yes. The Friend Solar System is available only to active Snapchat+ subscribers. Free users cannot see or access the feature at all.
Can my friends see my Solar System rankings?
No. Your rankings are completely private. Friends can only see their own planet position in your system when they tap your badge not your full list.
Do the planets change over time?
Yes. Rankings update periodically based on your recent snap and chat activity. If you interact more with someone, they move closer to your Sun. Less activity moves them further out.
What happens if I cancel Snapchat+?
The Friend Solar System becomes inaccessible. Your rankings are not permanently deleted, but you cannot view or use the feature without an active subscription.
Is the feature available on desktop?
No. Snapchat Planets is only available on Android and iOS devices. The desktop version of Snapchat does not support the Friend Solar System feature.