You've probably noticed that gold-bordered badge on a friend's profile and wondered why on earth you’re suddenly Saturn while someone else is Mercury. It’s the Snapchat best friend planets system. Basically, it's Snapchat’s way of gamifying your social hierarchy. If you’re a Snapchat+ subscriber, you get a peek behind the curtain of who you talk to the most—and who talks to you. It’s a solar system of digital intimacy.
Does it matter? Maybe not. Does it cause drama? Absolutely.
Snapchat launched this feature as part of its paid tier to give power users more data about their interactions. It isn't just a random list; it’s an algorithmic representation of your "Best Friends" list. If you are on someone’s profile and see that you are their Mars, it means you are their fourth closest friend. But there's a catch. This is a one-way mirror. Just because you are their Sun doesn't mean they are yours.
What the Snapchat Best Friend Planets Actually Mean
The order follows the actual distance from the Sun in our real-life solar system. Mercury is the closest, and Neptune is the furthest away. If you see yourself as a specific planet on a friend's profile, it indicates your rank in their top eight friends.
Mercury is the top spot. You're the person they snap the most. Period. It's a pinkish-red planet with five little hearts floating around it. If you're Mercury, you are the center of their digital universe.
Venus comes next. It’s the second planet. Usually, this means you're a very close second, but not quite the "Bestie" status of Mercury. It’s light brown with blue, yellow, and pink hearts.
Earth is third. Honestly, being Earth is pretty solid. It’s the classic blue and green globe we know, surrounded by red hearts and a moon. It means you’re in the inner circle.
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Mars is fourth. You’ll see a red planet with purple and yellow hearts.
Jupiter is fifth. It’s a big, orange-ish planet with stripes. No hearts here, just rings.
Saturn is sixth. It’s yellow and has those iconic rings.
Uranus is seventh. It’s green.
Neptune is eighth. It’s blue, cold, and honestly, if you’re Neptune, you’re just barely hanging onto the "Best Friends" list.
The Drama of the Friend Solar System
People get weird about this. Seriously.
Imagine checking your boyfriend’s profile and seeing a girl you don’t know as his Mercury, while you’re sitting back at Jupiter. That’s the kind of social friction Snapchat+ inadvertently (or perhaps very intentionally) created. Because the Snapchat best friend planets are based on a "two-way street" of communication—snaps sent and snaps received—it’s a very accurate metric of who is actually talking to whom.
It’s not just about streaks. You can have a 500-day streak with someone but if you only send one snap a day, you might be Neptune. Meanwhile, a new friend you’ve been rapid-firing memes to for three days might rocket straight to Mercury. The algorithm is volatile. It rewards high-frequency engagement over long-term consistency.
Snapchat even added a "Friend Solar System" toggle in the settings because of the stress it caused. You can actually turn the feature off if you don’t want to see where you stand or if you don't want the temptation to check.
Why the Graphics Matter
Snapchat’s design team didn't just pick colors at random. Each planet has a specific look that helps you identify it at a glance without having to count the distance from the sun in your head.
- Mercury: Pink/Red with hearts.
- Venus: Beige/Light Brown with multi-colored hearts.
- Earth: Blue/Green with hearts and a moon.
- Mars: Red with hearts.
- Jupiter: Orange/Red with stripes, no hearts.
- Saturn: Yellow with rings.
- Uranus: Green with rings.
- Neptune: Blue with rings.
Notice a pattern? The "inner" planets (Mercury through Mars) have hearts. The "outer" planets (Jupiter through Neptune) have rings. This is a visual shorthand for how much you're actually interacting. If there are hearts on your planet icon, you're in the elite group. If there are rings, you're a "Best Friend," but you're not in the "Inner Circle."
How to Use This Information
If you want to move up the ranks in someone’s Snapchat best friend planets list, it’s all about volume. You have to send more snaps and, crucially, they have to snap you back. Group chats don't count toward this specific ranking—it’s strictly one-on-one interaction.
However, there is a limit. You can only see your position on someone else's profile if both of you are on each other's Best Friends list. If you aren't one of their top eight, you won't see a planet at all. If you see the "Best Friends" badge but no planet, it usually means you're in their top list, but the specific solar system feature isn't active or you haven't clicked the badge to reveal the status.
It’s also worth noting that Snapchat+ is a paid subscription. You're essentially paying for the right to be slightly anxious about your social standing. But for many, the "Post View Emoji" or the "Ghost Trails" on the map make the subscription worth it. The planets are just a spicy bonus.
Privacy and the Toggle
Not everyone wants their friends to know exactly where they rank. Snapchat knows this. In 2024, they made it easier to hide your solar system. If you go into your Snapchat+ management settings, you can toggle the "Friend Solar System" off.
When you turn it off, you won't see your rank on other people's profiles, and they won't see their rank on yours. It’s a peace-of-mind setting.
Experts in digital psychology, like those at the Center for Humane Technology, often point to these types of features as "social pressure" mechanics. They are designed to keep you opening the app. You check the planet, you see you've dropped from Venus to Mars, and suddenly you feel an urge to snap that person more to "reclaim" your spot. It’s a loop.
Actionable Takeaways for Users
If you're using the planet system, here is how to handle it like a pro without losing your mind.
Verify your status manually. Don't just rely on the planet icon. Check your Chat list. The people at the very top with the most emojis (like the yellow heart or the "Super BFF" two pink hearts) are your true core. The planets are just a more granular version of those emojis.
Understand the "Sent vs. Received" balance. The algorithm heavily weights the reciprocity of the relationship. If you are sending 50 snaps but getting 0 back, you aren't going to climb the planet ranks effectively. It has to be a conversation.
Turn it off if it gets toxic. If you find yourself checking a crush’s profile every ten minutes to see if you’ve moved from Earth to Mercury, just disable the feature in your Snapchat+ settings. It isn't worth the hit to your mental health.
Use it for networking. On a lighter note, if you’re a creator or using Snap for business, seeing who your "Mercury" is can tell you who your most engaged fans are. These are the people most likely to see your stories and interact with your content.
The solar system isn't a permanent record. It’s a snapshot. One busy weekend where you don’t use your phone can demote you to Neptune, but a single long night of chatting can send you back to the Sun. Treat it as a fun, slightly chaotic feature rather than a definitive statement on your friendships.
Managing Your Snapchat+ Subscription
To actually see these planets, you need to ensure your subscription is active.
- Open your Profile.
- Tap on the Snapchat+ banner at the top.
- Ensure "Friend Solar System" is toggled "On."
- Navigate to a friend's profile (you must be "Best Friends" with each other).
- Look for the "Best Friends" or "Friends" badge with a gold border.
- Tap it to see which planet represents your friendship.
If the badge is there but doesn't show a planet, it’s likely that you aren't in their top 8, or they haven't been added to your top 8 yet. The app requires a certain amount of data before it assigns a planetary body to the relationship.
Ultimately, the Snapchat best friend planets system is a tool for the curious. It’s a way to quantify the unquantifiable: how much time we spend talking to people through a screen. Just remember that the real strength of a friendship isn't measured in pixels or planetary orbits.