If you’ve ever tapped on a friend’s Snapchat profile and spotted a small glowing planet sitting next to their name, you’ve probably wondered what it means. That planet isn’t random decoration — it’s part of a Snapchat Plus feature called the Friend Solar System, and it’s designed to show exactly how close you are to the people you interact with most. In this guide, we’ll walk through the full Snapchat planets order and meaning, explain how the ranking system actually works, and show you how to check your own position in someone else’s universe.
What Is the Snapchat Friend Solar System?
The Friend Solar System is an exclusive feature available to Snapchat Plus subscribers. Instead of using plain numbers or emojis to show who you talk to the most, Snapchat turns your top eight friends into planets that orbit around you. You are the Sun at the center of your own personal solar system, and the friends you interact with most often are placed on the planets closest to you.
The idea borrows directly from our real solar system. Just as Mercury sits nearest to the Sun and Neptune sits farthest away, the same logic applies here: the planet closest to you represents your most active friendship, while the planet farthest away represents someone who still makes your top eight, but with noticeably less day-to-day interaction.
Snapchat’s algorithm determines your rankings by tracking things like how often you send snaps, how frequently you chat, whether you keep a Snapstreak going, and how often you engage with each other’s stories. The more consistent that activity is, the closer a friend moves toward the center of your solar system.
The Full Snapchat Planets Order
There are eight planets in total, and they follow the exact same sequence as the real solar system. Here’s the complete Snapchat planet order, from closest to farthest:
- Mercury – Your #1 closest friend
- Venus – Your #2 closest friend
- Earth – Your #3 closest friend
- Mars – Your #4 closest friend
- Jupiter – Your #5 closest friend
- Saturn – Your #6 closest friend
- Uranus – Your #7 closest friend
- Neptune – Your #8 closest friend
Each planet also has its own visual style inside the app, with different colors, hearts, and sparkle effects that get progressively simpler the farther you move from Mercury.
What Each Snapchat Planet Means
Mercury – Your Ride-or-Die
Mercury sits closest to the sun in real life, and the same is true in your Snapchat universe. This planet is reserved for the friend you snap and chat with more than anyone else. Visually, Mercury usually appears as a warm red or orange planet surrounded by hearts, signaling maximum engagement. If someone shows up as your Mercury, they’re essentially your number-one contact on the app.
Venus – Almost as Close
Venus represents your second-closest friend. The interaction level here is nearly identical to Mercury, which is why these two spots tend to shuffle back and forth depending on who you’ve been messaging more that week. A slight increase in chats with your Venus friend could easily bump them up into the Mercury position.
Earth – The Familiar Middle Ground
Earth, unsurprisingly, is represented with its recognizable blue-and-green design. This spot marks your third-closest friend and reflects a steady, reliable friendship. It might not be your most active chat, but it’s consistent enough to stay firmly in your top three.
Mars – The Red Planet
Mars lands in the fourth position. This friend is someone you talk to regularly, but three other people currently interact with you slightly more. The Mars badge shares a red tone with Mercury but includes different heart colors and star patterns, making it easy to tell the two apart.
Jupiter – Occasional but Present
Jupiter marks your fifth-closest friend. At this stage, the relationship is more occasional than daily. You might not be messaging every day, but there’s enough back-and-forth to keep this friend well within your top eight.
Saturn – Cooling Off
Saturn is easy to spot thanks to its signature ring design. Landing in the sixth spot usually means the friendship has cooled down somewhat compared to before. You’re still connected and checking in from time to time, but frequent daily messaging isn’t really happening anymore.
Uranus – A Distant Connection
Uranus takes the seventh position, and this is where the visual style starts to change noticeably. Snapchat drops the heart icons at this point, leaving a simpler planet design with only faint stars. This friend is still part of your circle, but the interaction is minimal and infrequent.
Neptune – The Last Spot
Neptune closes out the list as the eighth and final planet. As the farthest point from the sun, it represents the friend you interact with the least among your top eight. The connection is real, but the snaps and chats are rare. Still, making it onto the list at all means you’re keeping in touch more than most of your other contacts.
How the Ranking Actually Works
Snapchat hasn’t published the exact formula behind the Friend Solar System, but it’s widely understood to be based on a combination of factors: how often you send snaps, how frequently you chat, whether you maintain a Snapstreak, and how much you engage with each other’s stories. The system updates regularly, sometimes even daily, so your position in a friend’s solar system — or theirs in yours — can shift based on recent activity rather than staying fixed forever.
This also means nothing about your ranking is permanent. If you start chatting with someone more this week, don’t be surprised if they move from Neptune all the way up to Mars or even Venus. On the flip side, going quiet with someone you usually snap constantly can knock them down the list just as quickly.
How to Check Your Planet in Someone Else’s Solar System
You’ll need an active Snapchat Plus subscription to view any part of the Friend Solar System, whether it’s your own or someone else’s. Here’s how to check your position:
- Open Snapchat and go to your friend’s profile.
- Look for a badge next to their name — either a gold-outlined Best Friends badge or a Friends badge.
- Tap the badge.
- Snapchat will reveal which planet you occupy in that friend’s personal solar system.
It’s worth understanding the difference between the two badges. A Best Friends badge means you’re in each other’s top eight — you’ll show up in their solar system, and they’ll show up in yours. A Friends badge means you’re in their top eight, but they haven’t made it into yours. This one-directional setup is common, since interaction habits rarely match perfectly between two people.
Keep in mind that you can only see your own position in someone’s solar system. Snapchat doesn’t show you the full list of who else is orbiting them.
How to Turn On the Friend Solar System
The Friend Solar System is turned off by default, even for paying Snapchat Plus subscribers. To enable it:
- Open Snapchat and tap your Bitmoji or profile icon.
- Tap the Snapchat+ banner.
- Find the Friend Solar System setting and toggle it on.
Once enabled, planets will start appearing on your friends’ profiles based on your interaction history, and your own planet will become visible to any Plus subscribers who check their standing with you.
A Quick Note on Using This Feature Responsibly
While the Friend Solar System is a fun, visual way to track your closest connections, it’s worth remembering that a planet ranking doesn’t define the real value of a friendship. Snapchat itself made the feature optional after hearing that ranking friends this visibly could create unnecessary comparison or pressure, especially among younger users. If you notice the feature affecting how you feel about your friendships, it’s completely fine to turn it off.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Snapchat planets order the same as the real solar system? Yes. It follows the identical sequence: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.
Do I need Snapchat Plus to see planets? Yes, the Friend Solar System is exclusive to Snapchat Plus subscribers and isn’t available on the free version of the app.
Can my planet ranking change? Absolutely. Rankings update based on recent interactions, so a friend’s position can shift up or down depending on how much you’ve been snapping and chatting lately.
Can I manually move a friend to a different planet? No. The ranking is determined entirely by Snapchat’s algorithm based on your actual activity, so there’s no manual override.
Final Thoughts
Understanding the Snapchat planets order and meaning makes the Friend Solar System a lot less confusing and a lot more fun to explore. From Mercury representing your closest connection to Neptune marking the friend you interact with least among your top eight, each planet gives a quick visual snapshot of where your friendships currently stand. Just remember that it’s meant to be a playful reflection of app activity, not a measure of how much someone actually means to you.
