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What different Snapchat icons mean?

What different Snapchat icons mean?

Snapchat has become one of the most popular social media platforms, especially among younger audiences. One of Snapchat’s signature features is its diverse array of icons, which appear next to your friends’ names and serve different purposes. These icons allow you to easily identify your friends’ activities on Snapchat, but their meanings can be confusing to new users. In this comprehensive guide, we will explain what all of the different Snapchat icons and emojis mean.

Friend list icons

The most basic Snapchat icons appear in your friend list and indicate your friends’ current status:

Icon Meaning
Gold Star Someone has replayed this person’s snaps in the past 24 hours.
Red Arrow You have unopened snaps from this person.
Grey Arrow You have opened all snaps from this person.
Hourglass This person’s snapstreak is about to end.
Fire Emoji You are on a snapstreak with this person.
Birthday Cake This friend has a birthday today.

The red arrow icon indicates you have unopened snaps from that friend. Once you view those snaps, the icon will turn grey. The hourglass shows your snapstreak with a friend is about to end, reminding you to keep it going. The fire emoji appears when you and a friend have snapped each other within 24 hours for at least 3 consecutive days.

Chat icons

In addition to the friend list icons, you’ll notice the following icons in your one-on-one and group chats:

Icon Meaning
Unopened snap You have an unopened snap from this chat.
Unread chat alert You have unread chat messages.
Pending notification You have a pending friend request or unread group chat invitation.
Screenshot notification Someone took a screenshot of your snap.
Replay notification Someone replayed your snap.
Chat is opened Indicates your friend has opened your chat.

The chat icons allow you to see at a glance when you have unread messages or snaps from your friends, as well as notifications when your snaps have been screenshotted or replayed.

Snap and Story icons

There are also a number of icons that can appear on individual snaps and stories:

Icon Meaning
Opened snap Indicates you’ve already viewed or opened this snap.
Unopened snap New snap you haven’t opened yet.
Replayed snap This snap has been replayed.
Screenshotted snap This snap has been screenshotted.
Forwarded snap This snap has been forwarded to you by someone else.
Looping video This story snap is a looping video.
Replay icon This story can be replayed.
Swipe up arrow You can swipe up on this snap to unlock a special feature.

These icons allow you to see information like who has screenshotted your snaps, which of your snaps your friends have opened, and which snaps you still need to view. The icons provide a visual overview of your snap activity.

Lenses and filters

Snapchat is also known for its fun augmented reality lenses and photo filters. When using lenses, you’ll notice various icons indicating which effects are applied:

Icon Meaning
Face scan icon This lens requires scanning your face.
World lens icon This lens interacts with your surrounding environment.
Lens carousel icon This indicates there are multiple lenses available to swipe through.
Lens explorer icon Browse and discover new lenses to try.
Lyrics lens icon This lens displays song lyrics.
Avatar lens icon This lens turns you into a 3D animated character (called an “avatar”).

Lenses that scan your face allow for filters that dynamically move and change based on your facial expressions and movements. World lenses integrate 3D effects into your surroundings. The carousel icon lets you swipe to discover multiple lenses in one set.

Memories icons

Within Snapchat Memories, where your saved stories and snaps are stored, you’ll notice the following icons:

Icon Meaning
Drafts Saved draft snaps.
My eyes only Private “eyes only” content.
Snaps Saved individual snaps.
Stories Your public stories.
Camera roll Synced photos and videos from your camera roll.
Expiring stories Temporary 24-hour stories.
Deleted content Recently deleted snaps and stories.

Memories organizes your Snapchat content so you can easily find and share your saved snaps. The “My eyes only” feature offers private storage protected by a PIN. Your camera roll contains the photos and videos saved from your phone’s camera.

Snap Map icons and emojis

The Snap Map lets you share your location with friends and see where they are. Various icons and emojis denote friends’ activities on the map:

Icon Meaning
Actionmoji avatar Shows your Bitmoji avatar at your location.
Sun icon It’s daytime at this friend’s location.
Moon icon It’s nighttime at this location.
Clock emoji Indicates the last time this friend shared their location.
Airplane emoji This friend has shared they are traveling.
Road emoji This friend has shared they are driving.

With Snap Map, your Actionmoji shows your live location on a global map. The sun and moon icons indicate if it’s day or night in each location. Friends can choose to share when they are driving, flying, or other activities with special map emojis.

Quick add icons

Snapchat also has a quick add feature for finding friends fast. Icons next to each suggestion indicate how you might know them:

Icon Meaning
Address book This person is in your contacts.
Facebook friend This is one of your Facebook friends.
Nearby This person is physically nearby your location.
Snapcode You scanned this person’s Snapcode to add them.
Added back This person added you back.

Snapchat scans your contacts, Facebook friends, location, and Snapcodes to recommend new friends. Icons provide helpful context on how each recommendation is related to you.

Emojis and symbols

Finally, Snapchat uses a variety of special emojis and symbols throughout the app:

Icon Meaning
😂 Laugh emoji Your friend has laughed at this snap.
❤️ Heart emoji Your friend has favorited this snap.
🔥 Fire emoji Your snap is on a snapstreak.
⌛ Hourglass emoji Your snapstreak is about to expire.
💬 Chat bubble emoji New chat message from a friend.
🙊 Monkey emoji This snap or story is risque.
📧 Mail emoji Indicates a new Snapchat Spotlight submission.
✔ Verification badge Indicates an official/verified account.

These emojis provide quick visual cues, like laughing or favoriting a snap. The monkey covers potentially sensitive content, while the mail indicates a Spotlight submission. Verified accounts have a blue badge.

Conclusion

While they may seem confusing at first, Snapchat’s icons, emojis, and symbols allow for an efficient visual messaging experience. They quickly convey information so you can identify snaps, chat alerts, locations, and more with just a glance. With this guide to the meanings behind Snapchat’s icons, you’ll soon become a pro at navigating the app and understanding your friends’ activities.