Snapchat is already full of little signs that can be surprisingly difficult to record. You have streaks, emojis, badges, scores, Best Friends, and if you’re using Snapchat Plus, a little solar system that shows where you sit on someone’s close friends list.
This feature is called the Friend Solar System, although many people call it the Snapchat Planets. It takes your spot in a friend’s Snapchat orbit and turns it into a planet. From Mercury to Neptune, these celestial bodies show how close a person is to you.
The important thing to know is that Snapchat Planets is a feature of Snapchat Plus, and it is now turned off by default for the first subscribers. To use it, you’ll need to sign up for Snapchat Plus and activate the Friend Solar System on the Snapchat Plus feature management page. Snapchat says the feature can be turned on or off at any time.
What are Snapchat planets?
Snapchat’s planets are part of Snapchat’s Friend Solar System feature. When enabled, Snapchat turns the list of Best friends into a solar system, with that friend as the sun and you as one of the planets around them.
In simple terms, the planet shows where you stand in the list of Best Friends. If you appear as Mercury, you are their closest Snapchat friend. If you appear as Venus, you are the second. If you appear as the Earth, you are the third, and so on.
You can find this by opening someone’s Friendship Profile and tapping the Best Friends or Friends with a gold ring badge. Snapchat says that tapping that badge shows which planet you’re on in their Solar System.
The planet you see is about your location in their solar system. It does not automatically mean that they have the same position as you.
Snapchat Planets order and description
The order of the Snapchat Planets follows the actual solar system, minus Pluto. Mercury is the closest planet, while Neptune is the farthest.
Thus, your companion planets in order from closest to farthest are as follows:
- Mercury
- Venus
- The world
- Mars
- Jupiter
- Saturn
- Uranus
- Neptune
And yes, Pluto is left out as well.
So, if you tap the badge on someone’s profile and see the Earth, that means you’re the third in their Snapchat Friend Solar System. If you see Neptune, you are left in the top eight, just ahead of the scale.
Best Friends vs Friends: What’s the Difference?
Snapchat Planets can appear in two badges: Best Friends and Friends. The best friends badge means that you are both in a very close circle of friends. In other words, you are in their top group, and they are in yours too. Meanwhile, a friend’s badge means you’re in their friend’s Solar System, but the relationship may not be the same. You might become one of their best friends, even if they don’t seem to be in the same place next to you.
Either way, tapping the badge is what reveals your planet, as long as you have Snapchat Plus and the feature is turned on.
How to see your Snapchat Planet
To check your Snapchat Planet, follow these steps:
- Step 1: Open Snapchat.
- Step 2: Go to a friend’s profile.
- Step 3: Look for a Best Friends or Friends badge with a gold ring around it.
- Step 4: Tap the badge.
- Step 5: Snapchat will show which planet that friend’s Solar System is on.
If you don’t see a badge, it usually means you don’t have Snapchat Plus, Friend Solar System is not allowed, or you’re not at that person’s virtual friend level.
How to unlock Snapchat planets
Before you can use Snapchat Planets, you need Snapchat Plus. Prices may vary by location and plan, so the safest way to check current costs is within the Snapchat app or via the Snapchat subscription page. Snapchat also offers a number of Plus-related plans in other regions, and availability may vary.
If you already have Snapchat Plus, you may still need to activate Friend Solar System manually.
- Step 1: Open Snapchat and go to your profile.
- Step 2: Tap your Snapchat Plus membership card or banner.
- Step 3: Open the Snapchat Plus feature management page.
- Step 4: Find a Solar System or a Friend’s Solar System.
- Step 5: Open it.
