Snapchat Planets (also called the Friend Solar System on Snapchat) is a feature—available to Snapchat+ subscribers—that visualizes how close you are to someone based on your Snapchat interactions. Instead of just seeing a list of “Best Friends” or emojis, the “snap planets” system shows planets in order around a central sun symbol, where you or your friend may be placed, depending on rank.

How Snapchat Planets Work

Snapchat Planets are part of the Friend Solar System feature in Snapchat+. They show your closeness with friends by placing you as one of the eight planets orbiting the Sun. The more you interact with a friend through snaps, chats, and story views, the closer your planet is to the Sun in their solar system.

The planets follow the real solar system order — Mercury (closest), Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune (farthest). Your position changes based on interaction levels, so if you snap someone often, you might be their Mercury, but if less, you could be farther out like Saturn or Neptune.

Snap Planets in Order: The Planet Sequence and Their Meanings

Here are the Snapchat planets in order, with what each planet signifies in terms of friendship rank (with you seen as the Sun, orbiting friends). The closer to the sun, the stronger/more frequent the interaction.

Rank	Planet	What it Means / Interpretation
1st	Mercury	Your #1 best friend – the person you interact with most.
2nd	Venus	Second closest friend. Lots of interaction, but slightly less than Mercury.
3rd	Earth	Your third strongest Snapchat friendship in terms of interaction. Earth often shows a moon icon next to its planet name.
4th	Mars	Fourth place in closeness. Still significant, though less frequent than the top three.
5th	Jupiter	Middle of the list; meaningful but not among the very top.
6th	Saturn	Sixth in closeness. Still in your top 8, but quite a bit farther from the Sun.
7th	Uranus	Near the outer edge; interaction is less frequent.
8th	Neptune	Farthest among your top 8; represents your eighth-closest friend in their Best Friends ranking.

What Each Planet Looks Like

Mercury tends to have red tones and red hearts, plus small stars around it, as a sign of closeness.
Venus may display multiple coloured hearts (pink, yellow, blue) and glow.
Earth often appears blue and green, like our real Earth, and includes special elements like a moon in the background with stars.
Mars is reddish or deep red, often with colourful hearts around.
Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune each has visual stylings: size, rings (Saturn), colours, stars, etc. They grow “dimmer” or “less ornate” as you go further out.

Snapchat Moons & Snapchat Moon Icon Next to Name

Snapchat Moons are part of the visual design in the Friend Solar System. When you appear as Earth in someone’s solar system, you’ll often see a small moon orbiting the planet. This moon highlights the uniqueness of Earth’s position and makes the third-rank friendship stand out among the other planets. It’s not tied to all planets—only certain ones like Earth have this extra visual detail.

The Snapchat moon icon next to a name can confuse people, but it simply represents your place as Earth in that friend’s ranking. It doesn’t mean anything negative or mysterious; it’s just Snapchat’s creative way of adding depth to the planet theme. So, if you see a moon beside your name, it usually means you’re someone’s third closest friend on Snapchat.

Key Details & Caveats

You See Your Rank in Their System, Not Yours in Theirs

Just to avoid confusion: when you see a planet next to a friend, you are seeing your position in their Friend Solar System—not necessarily theirs in yours. So if you are “Mars” in someone’s solar system, that means you are their 4th-best friend in terms of interaction.

Dynamic Rankings

The “snap planets in order” rankings are dynamic — as your interaction trends change, the ranking (i.e. what planet you are) can shift. If you snap more with someone else or snap less with the current “Mercury,” you might move up or down.

Default Off / Opt-in Feature

Snapchat has responded to concerns about social anxiety or pressure from this ranking system. Because of that, for new Snapchat+ users, the solar system / planets feature is often off by default. You need to turn it on manually.

Why the Feature Makes Some People Happy – And Some Uncomfortable

Pros

It adds a fun, visual, almost game-like element to seeing who your top friends are. It’s more expressive than just emojis.
For people who enjoy knowing their closeness ranking, it gives a clearer picture than the old “Best Friends” or “Streaks” alone.

Cons

It can lead to jealousy or anxiety. If you see someone as “Neptune,” you might feel bad compared to another friend’s Mercury or Venus status.
Misunderstandings: people might misinterpret the meaning (for instance, thinking someone doesn’t care just because they are far in the solar system) when really it’s just lower interaction on the app.

Step-by-Step: How to View Your Snapchat Planets & Moons

Make sure you have Snapchat+ and that the Friend Solar System (or “Solar System” / “Planets” feature) is turned on in your settings.
Go to a friend’s profile (or your friendship profile).
Look for the Best Friends or Friends badge with a gold ring around it — that indicates that the Solar System is active and you may be in their top 8.
Tap on that badge. It will show a layout of planets (with you shown as one of them), with their names, visual appearance (colours, rings, etc.). If you are Earth, you might see a moon icon next to Earth.

Common Questions

Question	Answer
Do I see everyone’s planets?	No. You only see your position in their planets if they have Snapchat+, the Solar System enabled, and you are among their top 8 friends.
Can I influence what planet I am?	Indirectly, yes — by interacting more: sending snaps, chatting, replying to stories, etc. More interaction increases your chance of being closer (e.g., Mercury, Venus) in someone’s solar system. But you don’t manually select it.
Is the ranking public?	No. Only you see where you are in someone else’s solar system. Others do not see your ranking in yours, unless they check you.
What about Snapchat moons / moon icon next to name?	The moon is tied to Earth planet configurations (usually #3 rank). It is a visual addition to signal a deeper bond, or just design to distinguish Earth among other planets.

Conclusion

Snapchat Planets is a creative feature that uses the metaphor of a solar system to visualize friendships: “snap planets in order” refers to the planet you occupy (Mercury through Neptune) based on how close you are in someone’s Snapchat interactions.