You’re scrolling through your chat list and suddenly notice a little yellow heart next to your best friend’s name. Or maybe it’s a grimacing face. Or a fire icon with a number that seems to grow every day. If you’ve ever felt like Snapchat is trying to tell you something in code, you’re not alone. These tiny icons aren’t just random decorations; they are a sophisticated, data-driven ranking system that tracks exactly how you interact with everyone in your contact list.
Honestly, it can be a bit much. One day you’re "Besties" and the next, you’ve been demoted to a simple "Smiling Face" because you didn't send enough snaps over the weekend. Understanding what are the snapchat emojis is basically like learning a second language—one where the grammar is based on how often you send selfies.
The Friendship Hierarchy: From Yellow Hearts to Pink
The most famous (and sometimes most stressful) emojis on the app are the ones that track your "Best Friend" status. Snapchat looks at your interaction history over the last several weeks to decide where people sit.
Yellow Heart 💛
This is the "Besties" icon. It means you are each other's #1 best friend. You send the most snaps to them, and they send the most snaps to you. It’s a mutual peak.
Red Heart ❤️
You’ve been each other’s #1 best friend for two weeks straight. It’s a sign of consistency. If you see this, you’re officially in the "BFF" zone.
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Two Pink Hearts 💕
This is the "Super BFF" badge. To get this, you have to remain each other's #1 best friend for two months in a row. It’s the ultimate achievement in Snap-loyalty. If you lose this, it usually leads to a very awkward conversation.
Smiling Face 😊
This just means they are one of your best friends, but not your #1. You snap them a lot, and they’re in your top eight, but the "Bestie" spot is occupied by someone else.
Why Do I See a Grimacing Face?
Sometimes the emojis get a little "messy." Snapchat loves to point out mutual connections, which can lead to some digital drama.
Grimacing Face 😬
This one is notoriously awkward. It means your #1 best friend is also their #1 best friend. You’re both competing for the top spot with the same person. It’s the app’s way of saying, "Hey, you both talk to the same person more than anyone else."
Face With Sunglasses 😎
You share a mutual "Best Friend." One of your top best friends is also one of their top best friends. It’s a lot less intense than the grimacing face because it doesn’t involve the #1 spot, just the general inner circle.
Smirking Face 😏
This emoji has a bit of a history. It used to mean "I'm your best friend, but you aren't mine." Basically, they sent you way more snaps than you sent them. Snapchat actually removed or changed how this appears in many versions of the app to prevent people from feeling bad about unrequited snap-love, though you might still see variations of it in older documentation or specific legacy settings.
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The Legend of the Snapstreak
Then there’s the fire. The Fire 🔥 emoji indicates a Snapstreak. This happens when you and a friend have snapped each other (messages don't count!) every single day for at least three days.
The number next to the fire tells you exactly how many days the streak has lasted. It becomes a point of pride for many. I’ve known people who give their login info to siblings while they’re on vacation just so they don’t lose a 500-day streak.
If you see the Hourglass ⌛, panic. It means your streak is about to expire. You have a very short window (usually a few hours) to send a snap and keep the fire alive. Once you hit 100 days, you’ll see the Hundred 💯 emoji pop up next to the fire. It's a milestone, but honestly, it's just more pressure to keep going.
Snapchat Plus and the Solar System
If you’re a Snapchat+ subscriber, things get even more celestial. You might see "Friend Solar Systems." In this setup, you are the Sun, and your top eight friends are planets orbiting you based on how close you are.
- Mercury: Your #1 best friend.
- Venus: Your #2 best friend.
- Earth: Your #3 best friend.
- Mars: Your #4 best friend.
- Jupiter: Your #5 best friend.
- Saturn: Your #6 best friend.
- Uranus: Your #7 best friend.
- Neptune: Your #8 best friend.
This feature was actually made optional recently because it was causing a bit of "friendship anxiety." People were getting upset finding out they were someone's Neptune instead of their Mercury. To see where you stand in someone else's solar system, you have to look for the "Best Friends" or "Friends" badge on their profile.
Verification and Celebrities
If you follow celebrities or official accounts, you’ll notice unique emojis that function like a blue checkmark on X (formerly Twitter). These are "Official Stories." For example, DJ Khaled famously had the Key 🔑 emoji. Kylie Jenner used the Crown 👑. These aren't based on your relationship with them; they just prove the account is legit.
How to Customize Your Emojis
Don't like the yellow heart? You can actually change it. Most people don't realize that the "Friend Emojis" list is customizable in your settings.
- Tap your Bitmoji in the top left.
- Hit the Settings (gear icon) in the top right.
- Scroll down to "Friend Emojis" (under Additional Services or Manage).
- Tap any of the categories (like "Super BFF") and pick a new emoji.
You could turn your #1 best friend icon into a pizza slice or an alien if you wanted to. Just remember that this only changes what you see on your screen. Your friend will still see the default icons (or whatever they’ve customized on their end).
Actionable Next Steps
If your chat list looks like a confusing bowl of emoji soup, here is what you should do right now:
- Check your Snapstreaks: Look for the hourglass. If it's there, send a quick photo snap—not a text—to save the streak.
- Identify the "Mutuals": If you see a 😬 or 😎, it’s a hint at who your friends are talking to. It’s great for figuring out friend groups but try not to overthink the "competition" aspect.
- Clean up your list: If you have a Baby 👶 emoji next to a name, it means you just added them. If you haven't talked to them in a week, maybe they don't need to be there.
- Update your birthday: The Birthday Cake 🎂 only shows up if you’ve entered your birth date in settings. If you want those "Happy Birthday" snaps, make sure your settings are toggled on.
Snapchat's system is designed to keep you coming back. While it's fun to see the hearts turn pink, remember that these icons track quantity of interaction, not necessarily the quality of your friendship. Use them as a fun guide, but don't let a disappearing yellow heart ruin your day.