What Do Icons, Symbols, Emojis Mean on Snapchat – Complete Guide

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This is the only guide on Snapchat icons and symbols and what they mean that you will ever need and read. I go through each menu and screen to highlight each icon and symbol you may see while using Snapchat.

Snapchat Profile Icons

You may see some icons next to the profile names of certain Snapchat users. Here is what they mean.

Black Star With Yellow Background – All verified Snapchat accounts have a black star with a yellow background

White Star With Black Background ✪ – Denotes that the user is a Snapchat+ subscriber. It is off by default, but can be enabled from settings if you want to show off.

Note: Snapchat+ subscribers can choose what emoji will be displayed when someone opens their snap. I see a lot of Redditors getting confused by this because emojis are different for every user.

Map Tab

This is the first tab at the bottom of the Snapchat app. Here, you will find your current location’s heatmap with options to navigate and communicate with friends.

1. Your Profile Icon: appears on different screens and grants you access to your profile and additional options.
2. Search (Magnifying Glass in White Circle): search locations, users, or specific content within the app.
3. Settings (Gear) Icon: opens the “Who Can See My Location” menu, which allows you to manage your location privacy settings and customize your Bitmoji appearance.
4. Hotspots (Globe) Icon: Activates the hotspot display. Areas highlighted in blue indicate locations with minimal Snapchat activity, while red and yellow regions signify areas with a high volume of snaps.
5. Satellite Icon: This icon toggles the map view between the standard map and a satellite imagery view.
6. Memories (Two Cards) Icon: It displays location-based Memories, allowing you to revisit past snaps associated with specific places.
7. Ghost Mode (Snapchat Icon in Blue Circle): It is visible when Ghost Mode is active, indicating that your location is hidden from friends and other users. You can toggle Ghost Mode off by tapping this icon or adjusting the settings via the Settings (Gear) icon.
8. Green Battery Icon: It displays your phone’s battery level. Tapping on another user’s Bitmoji on the map will reveal their device’s battery status. A charging “zap” symbol within the battery icon indicates the device is currently charging.
9. My Location (Black Arrow in White Circle) Icon: Takes you back to your present location on the map.
10. Search on Map (Magnifying Glass in Grey Circle) Icon: This search icon enables users to search for specific individuals or locations directly on the map.
11. Icons in Bottom Row:
    
    a) Bitmoji Icon (First Icon): allows you to customize your Bitmoji avatar. A red dot on the avatar indicates unread notifications, new feature alerts, or friend suggestions.
    
    b) Friend Bitmojis: Adjacent to your Bitmoji, you’ll find your friends’ Bitmojis. Tapping these allows you to locate them on the map quickly. A red square or purple indicator on the side of a friend’s Bitmoji signifies an unopened snap from that user.

Places

You will see more icons when you open a restaurant or some other place on Snapchat.

• Heart Icon – tap to save a place to the My Favorites list so you can rediscover saved locations later
• Profile Pic With Blue Circle – there’s an unread or unseen Snap. Tap to open and view the snap
• Blue Arrow Pointing Right – tap to share the selected place with other Snapchat users
• Profile Pic With Lock Icon – it means there is a new private story
• Profile Pic With People Icon (three heads and body) – means there is a new custom story

• Group of People With + Icon – you can create a group of select friends to plan an activity
• Graph With Bars Symbol – represents how busy it is or the footfall in the chosen place or location. The longer the bar, the higher the number of people visiting the place

Chat Tab

This is where you can chat with your friends and also where most users get confused. Because Snapchat uses a variety of icons in different colors to denote the kind of snap you have sent or received.

Here is a complete list of Snapchat Chat Screen icons and what they mean:

	Red solid arrow – Your friend request was not accepted (depends on privacy settings)
	Purple solid arrow – Snap with audio was sent
	Blue solid arrow – You sent a chat message
	Grey solid arrow – Your friend’s request was not accepted (depends on privacy settings)
	Red empty arrow – Your friend opened a snap message without audio
	Purple empty arrow – Your friend opened a snap with audio
	Blue empty arrow – Your friend opened a chat message
	Red solid square – You have an unseen snap without audio
	Purple solid square – You have an unseen snap with audio
	Blue solid square – You have an unread message
	Red empty square – Your snap without audio was seen
	Purple empty square – Your snap with audio was seen
	Blue empty square – Your chat message was viewed
	Grey empty square – Chat message is pending and might have expired
	Red empty double arrow – Screenshot of your snap without audio was taken
	Purple empty double arrow – Screenshot of your snap with audio was taken
	Blue empty double arrow – Screenshot of your chat message taken
	Red circular arrow – Your snap without audio was replayed
	Purple circular arrow – Your snap with audio was replayed
	Red circle around the profile – Unseen story having no audio
	Purple circle around the profile – Unseen story having audio
	Grey circle around the profile – You have seen the story

1. Red dot with numbers icon on the add people icon: you have new friends’ suggestions and requests, with the number showing how many there are.
2. Smiley Icon on Profile: That user is your best friend on Snapchat.
3. Filter Icon next to Profile Name: send snaps with the same filter your friend used to send you the snap.
4. Streak (Fire with number) Icon: This is the streak icon which is visible when you and your friend are sending each other snaps daily. The number with the icon shows how many continuous days you are maintaining this streak.
5. New Chat (Pencil with Chat Icon Inside Blue Circle) Icon: start a new chat.
6. Red dot icon with number on chat tab: shows how many unread chat messages or snaps you have.
7. X icon next to name: If the profile is suspicious, you will see an X icon tapping that will reveal a menu where you can report, block, or clear conversation with that person.
8. Camera icon: Tapping on that next to the name of the profile will initiate a snap that will be sent to that person only.

Chat Screen

When you tap on the profile name, you will enter the chat screen, where you will find ways to communicate with the person, like in any other messaging app.

1. Phone icon: make an audio call to the person
2. Video camera icon at top: make a video call to the person
3. Camera icon Next to Snap: Reply with a snap
4. Camera icon at the bottom: Send a snap to that particular person
5. Microphone icon: Record and send a voice or audio message
6. Smiley Icon: Send emojis
7. Two cards icon: View all photos sent or received in Snapchat Memories
8. Location (Pin) Icon: Share a location or drop a pin of where you are right now.

Chat Emoji Icons

Snapchat displays these emojis next to the profile names, and they tend to update from time to time. What do they mean?

💛	Green heart is for K-pop fans
❤️	Red heart means you have been best friends for 2 weeks now
💜	Purple heart emoji means it is their birthday month
💚	Green heart is for K-Pop fans
🤎	Cake emoji displayed next to the name if today is their birthday
💕	Two pink hearts emoji means you have been best friends for 2 months
😊	Smiling face emoji means he/she is one of your BFs or best friends
😬	Grimace face emoji means your number 1 BF is also their number 1 BF
😏	Smirking face emoji means you are their best friend but they aren’t yours
😎	Sunglass emoji means one of your BF is also one of their BF
👶	Baby emoji is shown when you add someone as a new friend on Snapchat
✨	Sparkles (3-4 yellow stars) emoji is shown when you’re snapping with many friends as a group
🔥	Fire emoji is shown if you are a super Snapchat user or someone who uses Snapchat a lot
⌛	Hourglass emoji is shown when your snap streak is about to end. Send a snap to keep it going
🎂	Capricorn for December 22 to January 19
💯	100 number emoji is displayed if you have been sending/receiving snaps for 100 days in a row
⭐	Gold star emoji is shown when someone replays someone’s snaps in the last 24 hours
📌	Pin icon means the conversation or group has been pinned at the top for easy access
–	Purple Zodiac Sign Icons Near Profile Name
♈	Aries sign for March 21 – April 19
♉	Taurus sign for April 20 – May 20
♊	Gemini for May 21 – June 20
♋	Cancer for June 21 – July 22
♌	Leo for July 23 – August 22
♍	Virgo for August 23 – September 22
♎	Libra for September 23 to October 22
♏	Scorpio for October 23 to November 21
♐	Sagittarius for November 22 to December 21
♑	Capricorn for December 22 to January 19
♒	Aquarius sign for January 20 to February 18
♓	Pisces sign for February 19 to March 20

Icons Beneath Profile (Location Indicators)

Beneath a user’s profile, you may encounter a set of different icons that provide additional context or indicate specific user settings. Here’s a breakdown of these icons:

• Ring Icon: Snapchat+ feature which indicates that the user has chosen to display their relationship status.

• Shopping Bag Icon: appears when a user has SnapMap enabled and is currently located within a shopping area.

• Apple Icon: indicates that your friend recently visited or is at a grocery store.

• Pink Heart with Ribbon Icon: both you and the other user are at the top of each other’s best friends list.

• Home Icon: indicates that the user is currently at their home location.

• Dumbbell Icon with H: indicates that the user is currently at a gym.

• Book with Bookmark Icon: shows that the user is at a library.

Camera Tab

The Camera tab on Snapchat is where you create snaps and send them to your friends or post them to your profile. It is divided into two parts—Snap and Video.

Snap Screen

1. Add (Person with Plus) Icon: allows you to add new friends on Snapchat.
2. Flip Camera (Two Arrows Forming Rectangle) Icon: switches between the front and rear cameras.
3. Flash (Lightning with Cross) Icon: toggles the flash on or off.
4. Sound Icon: add music or sounds to your snap.
5. More Options (Dropdown Arrow) Icon: opens a menu with additional camera features, such as Director Mode or Dual Camera, depending on device compatibility.
6. Lens Switch (Numbers with X) Icon: allows you to switch between different zoom lenses or wide-angle lenses if supported.
7. Capture (White Ring) Icon: captures a still snap. Tapping and holding the icon records a video snap.
8. Search Filters (Magnifying Glass with Star) Icon: search for and apply various filters to your snap.
9. Cancel Snap (Cross) Icon: cancels the snap or returns to the capture screen after taking a snap.
10. Add Text (T) Icon: allows you to add text to your snap.
11. Draw (Pencil with Line) Icon: allows you to draw on your snap.
12. Sticker Icon: you to add stickers or GIFs to your snap.
13. Make Sticker (Scissor) Icon: create a custom sticker from your snap.
14. Effects (Magic Wand with Stars) Icon: applies various effects to selfies or images with faces. Tapping it once activates the retouch effect, a second tap activates the enhance effect, and a third tap combines both retouch and enhance.
15. Eraser with Stars Icon: This icon allows you to erase elements from your snap.
16. Add URL (Paperclip) Icon: This icon allows you to add a URL or link to your snap.
17. Crop (Two Lines Forming a Square) Icon: This icon allows you to crop your snap.
18. Snap Time (Stopwatch with Number) Icon: set the duration for which your snap will be displayed.
19. Save Snap (Down Arrow) Icon: This icon saves your snap to Memories.

Inside Draw Section

Within the Draw feature of the Snap Camera, you’ll find these icons to customize your drawings:

1. Color Select Bar Icon: select a color for your drawing. By dragging the circular slider up and down, you can choose from a spectrum of colors.
2. Color Palette Icon: reveals a palette with a wider range of color options, allowing for more precise color selection.
3. Emoji Icon: enables you to draw using emojis. You can also select from a variety of emojis to use as your drawing tool.

Inside Sticker Section

Within the Sticker feature of the Snap Camera, you’ll find these icons to enhance your snaps:

1. Recent (Clock) Icon: provides quick access to your recently used stickers.
2. Suggestion (Star) Icon: This icon displays Snapchat’s suggested stickers, which are dynamically updated to reflect current trends, occasions, or relevant content. You can also access GIFs, mentions, location tags, question stickers, polls, and story links from this section.
3. Bitmoji Stickers Icon: This icon grants access to a collection of stickers featuring your personalized Bitmoji.
4. Scissor Icon: This icon displays all the custom stickers you’ve created from your snaps.
5. Emoji Icon: This icon provides access to a comprehensive library of emojis that you can add to your snaps.

Inside Eraser Section

Within the Eraser tool of the Snap Camera, you’ll find these icons to manage your edits:

1. Undo (Left Curved Arrow) Icon: This icon reverses the most recent eraser action, allowing you to step back through your edits.
2. Redo (Right Curved Arrow) Icon: This icon reapplies an action previously undone, allowing you to restore changes.
3. Eraser Size Slider (White Dot with Grey Bar) Icon: This slider allows you to adjust the size of the eraser tool. Dragging the white dot along the grey bar increases or decreases the eraser’s diameter.
4. Compare (Half-Transparent Half-Grey Box with Line in Between) Icon: This icon enables you to compare the currently edited image with the original, unedited version.

Stories Tab

This is where you will discover new stories and snaps. When you open a story, this is what you see.

There are only three icons here. Let’s quickly see what they mean in Snapchat.

• camera icon – you can reply to this story with your own
• heart icon – like the story
• right grey arrow – share this story
• three-dot icon – menu with more options like favorites, copy link, report, change mode, and share snap

Two more icons you may come across.

• Golden lock – private story visible to friends
• Two purple face – custom audience where story is shared with a select few profiles
• No icon – story is visible to all

Spotlight Tab

Here is what you should see on the screen. Let’s go through them one at a time from the top.

• Profile photo with plus sign – check the uploader’s profile
• Heart icon – you can bookmark or save this story for future reference
• Quote icon – view replies and comments to this story
• Repost (Two curved arrows forming a rectangle) icon – for reposting the snap
• Solid right grey arrow – share this story with someone else
• Three-dot icon – report, remix, share a snap with someone

By the way, did you find a song playing on Snapchat story? Learn how to identify the song playing using Shazam right inside Snapchat. Not sure what those planets in the solar system mean? Learn now.