The fire emoji next to a friend’s name on Snapchat indicates that this person is your number one best friend on the app. You both snap each other the most frequently out of all your friends, so you share the top best friend spot.
What Does the Fire Emoji Mean on Snapchat?
Snapchat’s friend emojis reflect your interactions with other users. When you and a friend frequently send snaps, chats, reactions, and videos back and forth, your Snapchat friendship level goes up. The more you interact, the higher your friendship level rises.
The fire emoji appears next to your number one best friend – the friend you exchange snaps with the most. You both are each other’s top best friend. If your top best friend changes, the fire emoji will move to that new friend who you snap the most.
Below the top best friend spot, other friend emojis like the yellow heart, red heart, pink hearts, and smiley face represent declining levels of friendship based on your communication frequency with each friend.
How Do You Get the Fire Emoji on Snapchat?
To get the fire emoji, you need to become someone’s number one best friend on Snapchat, and have them become your number one best friend as well. This means you need to snap this friend more than any of your other friends.
You can’t force someone else to send you more snaps to get to the top best friend position. It needs to happen organically through frequent communication over time. However, you can increase your interactions by:
- Replying to this friend’s snaps often
- Sending this friend daily snaps showcasing your day
- Reacting frequently to this friend’s content
- Responding consistently when they chat or snap you
- Commenting on their public Snapchat stories
- Sharing some inside jokes just between the two of you
Make an effort to build rapport, share your daily moments, and respond to their content. With consistent, ongoing communication, your friendship level will rise until you become each other’s number one best friends.
Does the Fire Emoji Mean You Snap the Most Overall?
The fire emoji doesn’t necessarily mean you snap the most out of all your friends overall. It indicates you and this specific friend snap each other the most compared to all your other friends.
For example, say you have three friends:
- Friend A you snap 60 times per day
- Friend B you snap 50 times per day
- Friend C you snap 40 times per day
You’d have the fire emoji next to Friend A, even though your total daily snaps with all friends is 60 + 50 + 40 = 150. The fire indicates your top friendship, not your overall snap frequency.
Does Fire Emoji Mean You’re Both Each Other’s #1 Best Friend?
Yes, the fire emoji signifies you and this friend are mutually each other’s number one best friend. You both have the fire emoji next to each other’s name.
If someone has the fire emoji next to your name, but you don’t have it next to theirs, it means you are their #1 best friend, but they are not yours. Your top spot is held by someone else.
The fire emoji relationship requires reciprocity – you need to be the top best friend for each other. This shows your friendship is strong in both directions.
How Often Does the Fire Emoji Update?
The fire emoji updates approximately once a week to reflect your latest snap activity. If your top best friend changes within the week, the fire will shift to your new #1 friend after the update.
You need to consistently keep snapping your top friend more than anyone else to maintain the fire emoji by each other’s names. If you let your interactions slip, the fire can disappear after the next update.
What Happens When You Lose the Fire Emoji?
If you stop snapping your #1 best friend as frequently, eventually the fire emoji will disappear as your ranking drops. This is normal as friendships and communication patterns evolve.
If you want to regain the fire, start sending this friend more snaps and messages again. Try responding faster, sharing more of your daily moments, reacting to their content, and chatting more often.
With consistent, ongoing communication, you can earn back the #1 spot and fire emoji. Just remember it takes two – your friend also has to resume snapping you frequently too.
Can You Have Multiple Fire Emoji Friends?
No, you can only have one #1 best friend at a time on Snapchat. There will only be a single fire emoji indicating your top friend.
Even if you snap several friends at equal rates, Snapchat’s algorithm will still rank one friend above the rest. The fire goes to whoever edges out the competition that week.
If you and a friend want to share the top spot, your best chance is snapping each other significantly more than anyone else. This can help solidify you as constant #1 besties.
What Do the Other Snapchat Friend Emojis Mean?
Below your #1 fire emoji friend, other Snapchat friend emojis indicate lower friendship levels based on decreasing interactions. They include:
- Yellow Heart – #2 Best Friend
- Red Heart – #3 Best Friend
- Pink Hearts – #4 Best Friend
- Smiley Face – Good Friend
- No Emoji – New Friend / Low Interaction
The more frequent and reciprocal your snaps, chats, and reactions with a friend, the higher your emoji tier will be. It reflects your communication patterns.
What if a Friend Doesn’t Have an Emoji?
If a friend on your Snapchat list doesn’t have any emoji next to their name, it means you don’t interact much yet. This is common for new friends or acquaintances.
To boost your friendship level, start responding to their snaps, send them more snaps directly, react to their public stories, and chat regularly. More communication will improve your ranking and earn emoji over time.
Can You Remove or Hide Snapchat Friend Emojis?
There is no way to remove, hide, or change Snapchat’s friend emojis. They are automatically assigned by Snapchat’s algorithm based on your interactions.
If you want certain emojis to change or disappear, you need to adjust how often you snap specific friends. Emojis reflect your real usage patterns.
However, you can remove friends entirely from your list, which will eliminate their emoji.
What if You Have a Significant Other You Want as #1?
If you have a girlfriend, boyfriend, spouse, or partner you want to secure as your permanent #1 best friend, you need to put in the effort to frequently interact more than all your other friends.
Consistently snap them good morning and good night, share funny moments from your day, react to their public stories, have regular conversations, and generally keep your interactions high. This can help lock in the top best friend fire emoji.
Can You Pay Someone to Be Your #1 Best Friend?
Some online services claim they can manipulate Snapchat’s algorithm to get you the fire emoji next to any friend you want for a fee. However, these services typically use bots or temporary spam accounts.
The results are not permanent, since the fire emoji will disappear again if you don’t organically keep up frequent Snapchat activity with that friend. There are no shortcuts – you need genuine ongoing communication.
Plus, these services violate Snapchat’s terms of use and can get accounts deleted. It’s best to improve friendships honestly through daily Snapchat interaction.
What If You Accidentally Lost the Fire Emoji?
It’s normal for your top best friend to fluctuate over time as you communicate with different friends more. But if you feel you accidentally lost your number one friend, don’t panic.
Just make an effort to get back into the snapping groove with them. Reply to their stories, send them funny snaps, reminisce about old memories, and react to their public posts. Increase your interactions again.
With consistent snapping, your ranking can bounce back after the next emoji update. Let it happen naturally based on real renewed Snapchat activity.
Can the Fire Emoji Help You Find New Best Friends?
The fire emoji actually can help you identify potential new best friends on Snapchat. If you notice someone consistently has the fire by your name from their end, it signals they are highly engaged with you.
Even if they are not your #1 best friend, the fact they are loyally snapping you so much shows compatibility. You have room to organically grow the friendship into a daily bestie by reciprocating more.
Use their one-sided fire as a clue for who might become your future top friends with time and consistent communication.
What If Your Best Friend Doesn’t Have Snapchat?
For some Snapchat users, their overall best friend or BFF might not actually have a Snapchat account. This is common if you have close friends who don’t use the app.
In this case, the fire emoji will appear next to the friend you snap the most out of your Snapchat-using friends. Even if they aren’t your life BFF, they are your top Snapchat friend.
If your non-Snapchat BFF later joins the app, they can potentially become your #1 friend if you start snapping them heavily. Time will tell organically.