Ever notice the emojis that pop up next to a friend’s name in your Snapchat Chat screen (swipe right from the main camera screen)? Frequent Snapchatters likely know what they represent, but casual users may not even be aware they’re there. (If you don’t use Snapchat, first, you can read up on how to get started and, second, learn the tips and tricks. Finally, master it.) These are Snapchat Friend Emojis, a feature about your friends that only you can see. The appearance of these emojis is based on your interaction with a Snapchatter, but there are also some emojis that mean other things.
Even if you’re well-versed in the emoji lexicon for text messaging, in Snapchat they actually mean something specific to that social network. Using Snapchat is already confusing enough for many people, but thankfully the list of Snapchat emojis is relatively short, so it won’t be too hard to memorize (although some are as downright perplexing as Snapchat itself). Keep reading to find out what do emojis mean in Snapchat.
Gold heart: You and this friend are primary best friends (Snapchat calls this No. 1 Best Friend, but you can also have other Best Friends), i.e., the person you send the most snaps to and vice versa.
Red heart: You and this friend have been No. 1 Best Friends for two weeks consistently.
Pink hearts: You and this friend have been No. 1 Best Friends for two months consistently.
Sunglasses: You and a Snapchatter share a Close Friend — one of your Best Friends is also Best Friends with this user.
Smile: One of your Best Friends, but not your No. 1 Best Friend. You send this person a lot of snaps.
Grimace: You aren’t Best Friends with this user, but you both share the same Best Friend. In addition, you both send the most snaps to this mutual best friend.
Smirk: You are this person’s Best Friend, but he/she isn’t yours. This Snapchatter sends you a lot of snaps, but you don’t send back as many (if any).
Fire: You and this Snapchatter have been sending snaps to each other consecutively, or a “snap streak.” Specifically, you have both been snapping (not chatting) within 24 hours for more than three straight days. If you see a number next to the fire emoji, that shows the number of days you both have been on a snap streak. If you see an hourglass, it means your snap streak is coming to an end.
Fire and Hundred: You and this Snapchatter have been sending snaps to each other for 100 days consecutively.
Hourglass: Your snap streak is coming to an end. Send each other a snap to keep the streak going.
Birthday cake: It’s your friend’s birthday (it only appears if a Snapchatter has “Birthday Party” enabled in the Birthday settings menu).
The aforementioned Friend Emojis are by default, but you can customize them to your liking. First, go to your profile screen by tapping the ghost icon at the top-left, and then do the following:
Zodiac sign: If you enter a birthdate in your profile, then you will see a corresponding zodiac emoji next to the username. For example, you will see the Capricorn symbol if you were born on January 1. You will also see it in your friends’ profile panel.
Gold star: A friend who has had her snaps replayed by one or more of her friends in the past 24 hours.
Sparkles: A sparkle next to a friend means he or she is part of a group chat.
Instagram is making its way to yet another screen, and this time, Apple TV is getting a taste of the Reels rabbit hole. The company has launched a dedicated Instagram app for Apple TV, bringing Reels, longer videos, and live shows to the big screen. So, if watching one quick clip on a phone somehow turns into an hour of scrolling, there's now a much larger screen for that.
Instagram brings Reels and more to Apple TV
I have lost count of how many times I have gone to bed thinking I will finally sleep on time, only to somehow end up scrolling Instagram or X again. A few minutes turn into an hour, then another, and before I notice, it is 2 or 3 a.m. The next morning, I am usually annoyed with myself because I could have just slept and felt considerably better for the day ahead.
It is also a surprisingly hard habit to beat. Knowing you should put the phone down does not always help once it is already in your hand. Brick Night is a new gadget built around that exact problem. Instead of relying on you to remember to turn on an app blocker, it automatically restricts selected apps and websites when your phone enters your chosen sleep space during the hours you set.
WhatsApp’s scheduled messages are finally making their way onto the iPhone. We first saw the feature pop up way back in February 2026. Then, just last week, the feature became usable for select Android beta testers.
Now, it's arriving to the iPhone, with WhatsApp rolling out scheduled messages to some iOS beta testers running version 26.42.10.19 through TestFlight. The WABetaInfo report says that access will expand to additional testers over the coming weeks, although WhatsApp still hasn’t announced when everyone will get it.