If you have heard friends talk about “Mercury” or “Neptune” on Snap and wondered what space has to do with your chats, you are in the right place. Snapchat’s “Friend Solar System” is a fun, sometimes spicy visual that ranks your top friends as planets.
In this guide, I will explain the exact Snapchat planets order, how to see your rank, what each planet means, and a few things people often get wrong. By the end, the whole solar system will feel straightforward instead of mysterious.
What Is The Friend Solar System In Reality?
The Friend Solar System is part of Snapchat+, the app’s optional subscription. When it is on, Snapchat picks your eight closest connections based on how much you interact (snaps, chats, and overall activity).
Those eight get represented as planets in a mini solar system where you are the Sun. Your
closest friend is Mercury, the next is Venus, and so on, going outward to Neptune as the eighth. Snapchat describes it simply:
1. Each planet represents a position in a Best Friends list
2. Visible when you tap the “Best Friends” badge on a Friendship Profile (a gold-ring icon for Snapchat+ users).
The Snapchat Planets Order (1–8)
The order mirrors our real solar system. That is the whole trick. Your most interactive friend is closest to your Sun; your eighth-most interactive friend is farthest away. In other words:
Mercury → Venus → Earth → Mars → Jupiter → Saturn → Uranus → Neptune.
Plenty of independent explainers and how-to guides confirm this ranking. The consensus is consistent: Mercury marks #1, Venus #2, and so on through Neptune at #8.
What Each Planet “Means” in Plain Language?
The most important “meaning” is just rank. Mercury means you interact with that friend the most; Neptune means you interact with them the least among your top eight. Some blogs try to assign relationship labels (like “close confidant” or “acquaintance”) to each planet, but those are interpretations, not official rules.
Officially, the planet only signals your position 1st through 8th spot based on activity. So treat colorful descriptions as helpful vibes, not hard facts.
How to See Your Planet (and Theirs)
To view the planets, you need Snapchat+. On a friend’s profile, look for the Best Friends badge with the gold ring. Tap it, and you’ll see which planet you are in their solar system. If you are Mercury there, you are their #1. If you are Jupiter, you’re their #5. Keep in mind this shows the ranking from that friend’s point of view, not yours, so your planet can be different when they look back at you.
Why Does Your Planet Change?
Planets move because friendships on Snapchat are dynamic. When you snap and chat more with someone, you may climb toward the Sun in their system, or they might climb in yours. If you slow down with one person and ramp up with another, the order reshuffles. Recent explainers note that snaps, chats, and streaks feed into this data, and updates can happen frequently. In short, the algorithm follows your behavior.
Do Both People Need Snapchat+?
Only the person trying to see the planets needs Snapchat+. If you are subscribed, you can see planets on Friendship Profiles; your friend does not have to be. But they would need Snapchat+ to see planets from their side.
Can You Turn It Off or Opt-in?
This feature lives inside Snapchat+. After early feedback, Snapchat made the Solar System experience opt-in rather than automatically on by default. Subscribers can choose to enable it. That change followed reports about the feature causing tension among some teens and couples. If you prefer less social comparison, simply leave the solar system off in your Snapchat+ settings.
Common Myths and Confusions
One common confusion is thinking the planets label the type of relationship. They do not. There is no official “bestie vs. acquaintance” tag beyond the rank itself. Another is assuming the system is permanent. It is not. If you have ever watched your Best Friends list shift after a busy weekend of snapping, you know the order can change fast.
Finally, people sometimes think the friend pictured as the Sun is always you; what you actually see depends on where you are viewing from and which profile you are on. The official help page settles it: tap the badge on a Friendship Profile to see where you rank in their system.
How The Snapchat Planets Order Fits Everyday Use?
Here is the real value: the Snapchat planets order gives you a quick, visual pulse on your recent habits. If a friend suddenly moves from Mars to Earth, you have probably been chatting more. If someone drifts from Venus to Jupiter, maybe you two went quiet. It is less a label on the quality of the friendship and more a mirror of current activity. When you read it that way, it is a neat snapshot of who you are actually spending time with on the app right now.
Tips to Keep It Healthy
Because rankings can fuel comparison, be thoughtful in how you interpret them. If someone else’s planet bothers you, remember the system is just math on recent activity, not a verdict on feelings. If you are in a relationship, it can help to align expectations: some couples disable the Solar System entirely to keep the focus on their real-life connection.
Also if you enjoy the feature, enjoy it for what it is: a fun, space-themed status of your Snap routine. The reporting around the 2024 switch to opt-in underlines that even Snapchat recognizes this can be sensitive for some users.
Quick Recap
The order of the planets on Snapchat is a straight line from Mercury to Neptune, 1 to 8, depending on how interactive you are. You will need Snapchat+ to display, which you can enable or disable in settings. Treat the planets as blueprints for Activities, not friendship scoreboards, and you will have stress-free fun. For step-by-step or visual explanations, the official Snapchat Help covers the same basic rules you have learned here.
