Snapchat uses a lot of symbols and icons. If you’re new to Snapchat, chances are you won’t know the meaning of these Snapchat symbols.
Snapchat is easy to use, but difficult to master. We have filters, lenses, trophies, emojis and many features more. Most of these features use symbols and icons to represent different meanings.
Snapchat symbols are emojis and icons used to represent relationships with your friends, status of your snaps — sent and received — and other important information. You can tell a lot about your Snapchat friends if you understand the meaning of these symbols.
In this post, we take a look at all the Snapchat symbols (icons) and their meanings.
Snapchat Symbols — Friend Emojis
We start off with the most popular of Snapchat symbols — emojis.
Emojis are emoticons used to represent your relationship with your friends on Snapchat. You can find them next to your friends’ names in your inbox or friends’ list.
Snapchat Friend Emojis were introduced in January 2015 and have since been expanded to 11 emojis. While emojis are a private feature — that is, only you will be able to see the emojis — they can tell you a lot about your friends.
Here are all the snapchat emojis that are currently in existence:
Snapchat Symbol: Gold Heart 💛
A Gold Heart 💛 symbol on Snapchat appears next to a friend’s name when you have sent the most number of snaps to this person, and this person in return sends you the most number of snaps. This is also called the Yellow Heart on Snapchat.
The Gold Heart emoji indicates that you are #1 best friends on Snapchat. From what we’ve understood so far, you are #1 best friends on Snapchat with someone only when the two of you have been sending the most number of snaps to each other. You are not best friends if the person on the other side has not sent you the most number of snaps.
You are each other’s best friends. You snapchat with him/her the most. And he/she, likewise, snapchat with you the most. And this is indicated by the Gold Heart Snapchat symbol 💛.
Red Heart symbol ♥️
The Red Heart symbol is also a best friend emoji. When you have been sending the most number of snaps with each other for at least 2 weeks, the red heart symbol will appear next to your friend’s name. This means that you have been #1 best friends on Snapchat for 2 weeks or more.
Pink Hearts emoji 💕
The Pink Hearts emoji 💕 is the highest level of friendship you can achieve on Snapchat. This is a true indicator of friendship. It says that you really are BFFs.
The Pink Hearts symbol 💕 appears when you have been #1 best friends on Snapchat for 2 months or more. This means that you have been exchanging the most number of snaps with each other for more than 2 months.
Grimace 😬
The Grimace emoji means that you and that person are sharing a best friend. That person may not necessarily be close to you, but you have a mutual best friend.
To illustrate, you are a girl. You send the most number of snaps to your boyfriend, making him your best friend. But some girl from your friend’s list has also been sending the most number of snaps to your boyfriend, making him her best friend as well.
When you see a grimace symbol next to someone’s name, you seriously need to stay alert or raise questions. We told you, Snapchat symbols tell a lot about your friends.
Smile emoji 😊
The smile emoji is a close friend emoji. It means that that person is one of your best friends. He/She may not be the person you send the most number of snaps to, but he/she is someone you send a lot of snaps to.
You are close with this person, although you’re not BFFs. The smile emoji indicates that you are close friends with that person.
Sunglasses 😎
This is the smile version of the Grimace emoji. While the Grimace emoji means that you’re sharing a best friend with someone, the Sunglasses emoji means that you’re sharing a close friend (someone with a smile emoji).
Nothing to be alarmed of here.
Smirk emoji 😏
The Smirk emoji appears next to a person’s name on Snapchat when you are their best friend, but they are not. This means that this person has sent the most number of snaps to you, but you do not send the most number of snaps to this person.
The smirk symbol, among many others, can be interpreted by this illustration: You’re a guy. A girl has a crush on you. She keeps sending you these snaps. But you’re hardly interested in her and do not send snaps back. The smirk symbol appears next to her name.
Nothing to be alarmed about here, but stalker alert maybe.
Fire symbol 🔥
The Fire emoji in Snapchat indicates a Snap streak. A snap streak appears next to a friend’s name when you have been exchanging snaps with each other within a 24 hour period for more than one consecutive day.
When you’re on a Snap streak, a number will appear next to the Fire symbol. This number indicates how long you have been on a snap streak with that person. If the number 7 appears next to the fire emoji, it means that you have been exchanging snaps with each other regularly (back and forth) for 7 days.
Snap streak is counted only for snaps, not chats.
Hourglass/Timer symbol ⌛️
The Hourglass emoji has been discussed extensively in an earlier post. When an hourglass ⌛️symbol appears next to a friend’s name, it means that your snap streak is about to run out.
In order to keep the snap streak alive and going, send a snap to the other person. Chats do not have any effect on the snap streak however.
If you have sent a snap before the timer runs out, but your snap streak is still gone, you can report to Snapchat from this link: https://support.snapchat.com/co/bug-friends
Baby symbol 👶
The Baby emoji in Snapchat appears when you have just become friends with a person. The symbol will eventually go away after you have become friends for a while.
Birthday Cake emoji 🎂
The Birthday Cake emoji appears next to a friend’s name who has a birthday today. This makes it easier to remember someone’s birthday and send him/her a snap wishing him/her a happy birthday.
Understanding Snapchat emojis can tell you a lot about your relationships with your friends. It also serves as social proof of your friendship.
So, here are the meaning of the symbols on Snapchat
- Yellow Heart 💛 : You are #1 best friends with each other
- Red Heart ❤️ : You are #1 best friends for 2 weeks or more
- Pink Hearts 💕 : You have been #1 best friends for 2 months
- 100 Days Streak 💯 : You have been #1 best friends for 100 days
- Grimace 😬 : You share a best friend
- Smile emoji 😊 : You are a close friend
- Sunglasses emoji 😎 : You share a close friend
- Smirk emoji 😏 : You are someone’s best friend, but he/she is not your best friend.
- Fire symbol 🔥 : It means you’re on a snap streak
- Hourglass symbol ⌛️ : Your streak is about to run out
- Baby symbol 👶 : You have only recently been friends with this person
- Birthday Cake emoji 🎂 : It is someone’s birthday
But Emojis aren’t the only Snapchat symbols that you should know. There are many more symbols used in Snapchat that can get very confusing. Let’s take a look:
Snapchat Symbols — Icons
Sent & Opened Icons — Arrow Symbols
Red Arrow
You sent a snap that does not contain an audio.
Your snap that does not contain an audio has been opened.
Purple Arrow
You sent a snap that contains an audio.
Your snap that contains an audio has been opened.
Blue Arrow
You sent a chat.
Your chat has been opened and read.
Gray Arrow
A gray arrow appears when the person you send the snap to has not accepted your friend request.
Green Arrow
A friend received cash that you sent through snapcash.
Received & Viewed Icons — Square and Chat Symbols
Red Square Icon
You have received a snap without an audio.
You have opened and viewed a snap without an audio.
Purple Square Icon
You have received a snap with an audio.
You have viewed a snap with an audio.
Blue Chat Icon
You have received a chat.
You have opened a chat.
Gray Chat Icon
The Gray Chat Icon means that a snap or chat is pending and may have expired. It means that you haven’t opened the chat/snap in time and is no longer available.
Screenshot Icons — Double Arrow Symbols
Double arrow symbols indicate screenshot icons. Here’s what they mean:
Red double arrow symbols
This means that someone has taken a screenshot of your snap that does not contain an audio.
Purple double arrow icon
When the purple screenshot icon appears, it means that someone has taken a screenshot of your snap that contains audio.
Blue screenshot icon
The blue double arrows means that someone took a screenshot of a chat you sent.
Replay Icons — Refresh Symbol
Replay icons appear when someone replays your snaps. Replays aren’t readily available in Snapchat. You get one replay in a 24 hour period. You can also buy replays.
Red Replay Icon
When a red replay icon appears, it means that someone has replayed your snap that does not contain an audio. When someone replays a snap, it is highly likely that he/she takes a screenshot or a recording of the snap.
Purple Replay Icon
The purple replay icon means that someone has replayed a snap containing an audio that you sent out.
Here’s an easy way to remember the Snapchat symbols as far as the snap icons are concerned:
Red Icons: Red icons indicate a snap that does not contain an audio.
Purple Icons: Purple icons mean that the snap contains an audio.
Blue Icons: Blue icons are for chats.
Besides the above, there are many other Snapchat symbols. But these are pretty self-explanatory. Some of these are:
Ghost Symbol: The ghost symbol is the logo of Snapchat. It appears on the camera home screen. When you tap on it, it will take you to your profile and settings.
Trophies Symbol: The trophies symbol appears on your profile screen. Tapping on it takes you to the trophies screen where you can see the trophies you have unlocked in your Snapchat.
Settings Symbol: The Settings icon appear on the top right corner of your profile screen. Tap on it to go to the settings of your Snapchat.
Three rings symbol: In the new Snapchat, you will see three rings on the right bottom corner of your screen. If you tap on this, it will take you to the Stories section. You can also access the stories section by swiping left across your screen.
Blue chat symbol: This feature is also seen in the new Snapchat update, a blue chat symbol appears on the bottom left corner of your screen. Tapping on it takes you to your inbox. You can also access your inbox by swiping right across your screen.
We will keep looking for new Snapchat symbols that are a little confusing. We’ll update this post with any new developments.
Learn how Snapchat score works in a separate post.
