Emojis next to friends’ names on your Snapchat friends list indicate your relationship and interactions with those friends on the app. The emoji shows your friend how you interact with them on Snapchat.
What the emojis mean
Here are the commonly seen emojis and what they represent:
- 💛 Yellow Heart – You are #1 best friends with each other. This means you snap each other the most out of all your friends.
- ❤️ Red Heart – You have been #1 best friends with each other for two weeks straight.
- 🔥 Fire – You are on a snap streak! You have snapped back and forth with each other within 24 hours for several consecutive days.
- 💬 Speech Bubble – You have sent this friend a chat that they haven’t opened yet.
- 🤝 Handshake – You just became friends with this person.
- 💚 Green Heart – You have the same #1 best friend.
- 🎊 Party Popper – It’s this friend’s birthday.
- ⌛ Hourglass – Your snap streak with this friend is about to end.
- ❕ Exclamation – You posted a story.
How emojis are calculated
Snapchat’s algorithm calculates your interactions to determine which emoji shows up next to each friend. Here’s how it works:
- The 💛 Yellow Heart emoji is awarded to the friend you snap the most over a consecutive 3-day period. You become each other’s #1 best friends.
- If you maintain the 💛 Yellow Heart for two weeks straight, it turns into a ❤️ Red Heart.
- The 🔥 Fire emoji appears when you and a friend have snapped each other at least once per day for at least 3 consecutive days. This is called a “snap streak.”
Snapchat recalculates these interactions every day. So your emojis can change day-to-day based on how frequently you snap different friends.
Custom friend emojis
In addition to the default emojis, you can create custom emojis for your friends on Snapchat. Here’s how:
- Tap your profile icon and go to your Friends list.
- Tap the ⚙️ settings icon next to a friend’s name.
- Tap “Custom Friend Emoji.”
- Browse through the emoji options and select one you want for that friend.
The custom emoji will now show up next to that friend’s name instead of the default emoji. You can change the custom emoji anytime.
What you can do with friend emojis
Here are some things you can do with friend emojis on Snapchat:
- See who you interact with most based on the 💛 Yellow Heart emoji.
- Keep your 🔥 snap streaks going by making sure to snap streak friends daily.
- Send a ❤️ Red Heart emoji in chat to your #1 best friends.
- Use custom emojis to give each friend a unique emoji that fits their personality or an inside joke.
- Click the emoji icon next to a friend’s name to go straight to snapping them.
- Identify new friends you’ve recently added with the 🤝 Handshake emoji.
Tips for custom friend emojis
Custom friend emojis are a fun way to personalize your Snapchat friends list. Here are some tips:
- Use inside jokes – Choose an emoji referencing an inside joke or experience you’ve shared.
- Go for their interests – Pick an emoji representing something they love, like a soccer ball if they’re a huge soccer fan.
- Make it descriptive – Select an emoji that describes their personality, like a clown face if they’re super silly.
- Mark relationships – Use a heart for close friends and family members.
- Be creative – Browse all the emoji options to find really unique and fun ones.
- Change them up – Don’t be afraid to change the custom emoji as your friendship evolves.
What if an emoji disappears
Sometimes friend emojis like the💛 Yellow Heart or 🔥 Fire can disappear from the Snapchat friends list. There are a few possible reasons this can happen:
- You haven’t snapped that friend in over 24 hours, so your snap streak ended.
- Someone else became your new #1 best friend, replacing the 💛 Yellow Heart.
- Your friend deleted their account.
- Your friend removed you as a friend.
- There’s a glitch in the app.
If the emoji disappears unexpectedly, try sending that friend a snap. This normally resolves any glitches and returns the emoji if they are still your friend. You can rebuild your snap streak by starting to snap daily again.
Changing emoji colors
Snapchat friend emojis only appear in the default colors chosen by Snapchat. There is no setting to change the color of the emojis.
However, when you add custom friend emojis, you can pick emojis of different colors. So you can essentially create your own colored emojis by picking certain custom ones.
For example, instead of the default 💛 Yellow Heart emoji, you could add a ❤️ Red Heart custom emoji for your #1 best friend. This effectively makes it a red heart instead of yellow.
Meanings of other emoji symbols
In addition to the friend emojis, Snapchat uses some other emoji symbols to convey meaning. Here are some other emoji indicators you may see:
- 📸 Screenshotted – This user took a screenshot of your snap.
- ➡️ Replayed – This user replayed your snap video.
- 🎵 Played with sound on – This user played your snap with the sound turned on.
- ⏰ Viewed – Your story was viewed by this user.
- 👁️🗨️ Viewed by – Number of viewers your story received.
Snapchat friendship profiles
Along with emojis, Snapchat also shows your “Snap Score” and “Snapchat Friendship” profile with each friend on your list. Here’s what they mean:
- Snap Score – Total number of snaps you’ve ever sent and received from that friend.
- Snapchat Friendship – Shows the number of consecutive days you’ve been friends on Snapchat.
You can tap into these profiles to see even more detail on your snapping history with each friend.
Conclusion
Snapchat emojis next to friends’ names give you insight into your relationships and interactions on the app. The emojis reflect your snapping habits and can change daily based on activity. In addition to default emojis, you can assign custom emojis for each friend.
Understanding friend emojis allows you to identify your best friends, keep snap streaks going, and add a personal touch to your friend list. With creative and personalized custom emojis, you can make your Snapchat friends list truly unique!