Snapchat Icons and Symbols Explained
Snapchat is built around icons. The colored arrows and squares in your chats, the emojis next to your friends’ names, the planets, and the tools stacked on the side of the camera all mean something specific, and Snapchat rarely spells it out.
In this guide, you will learn what every icon in the latest Snapchat app means, screen by screen, and the last section explains the Snap arrows, Friend Emojis and planets. And this is an interactive guide. You can tap on every icon on the screens below to know what it does.
Camera
Snapchat opens straight to the camera. The top bar and the tab bar at the bottom stay the same on every tab, and the toolbar on the right holds the camera tools.
Top bar and capture
Your profile
Your Bitmoji in the top-left corner. Tap it to open your profile, where you find your Snapcode, your Stories and your friends list.
Search
The magnifying glass. Tap it to search for friends, creators, Lenses and more across Snapchat.
Add Friends
The person with a plus. Opens Add friends, and the red number shows how many new friend requests and suggestions are waiting for you.
Memories
The two stacked photos next to the capture button. Opens Memories, where your saved Snaps, Stories and camera roll live. A red dot means there is something new to look at.
Capture button
The big white circle. Tap it to take a photo Snap, or press and hold it to record a video.
Lens carousel
The round thumbnails to the right of the capture button. Tap one to try that Lens on the camera, or swipe left for more.
Camera toolbar
Flip Camera
Switches between the front and back camera. You can also double-tap anywhere on the camera screen.
Flash
The lightning bolt. With a cross on it, the flash is off. Tap it to turn the flash on; with the front camera, the screen lights up to brighten your face.
Selfie settings
The face with a sparkle, shown when you use the front camera. Tap it for touch-up options for your selfies.
Director Mode
The video camera with a sparkle. Opens video tools such as recording with both cameras at once and Green Screen.
Sounds
The music note. Tap it to pick a song or sound to play over your Snap before you record.
AI Snaps
The letters AI with a sparkle. Opens Snapchat's AI Lenses, which use generative AI to turn your photo into something new.
More tools
The down arrow at the bottom of the toolbar. Tap it to open the full toolbar with names next to each tool and extra tools like Timer and Grid.
Tab bar
Map
The location pin. Opens Snap Map, where you see friends who share their location with you and Snaps posted from places around the world.
Chat
The speech bubble. Opens your conversations. The red number is how many chats you have not opened yet.
Explore
The magnifying glass with a star, in the middle of the bar while you are on the camera. Tap it to browse and search all Lenses. On the other tabs, this button turns into a camera that brings you back here.
Stories
The two people. Opens Stories from your friends, creators you follow and Discover. A red dot means there are new Stories.
Spotlight
The play button. Opens Spotlight, Snapchat's feed of short public videos. A red dot means new videos are waiting.
Camera tools
Tap the down arrow at the bottom of the camera toolbar and it opens up, with a name next to each tool and a few extra tools underneath.
Grid
The grid of squares. Shows grid lines over the camera to help you line up your shot.
Timer
The stopwatch. Sets a countdown so the camera takes the Snap on its own, without you holding the button.
Focus
The person inside a frame. Blurs the background so the person in front stands out, like portrait mode.
Multi Snap
The stacked rectangles. Lets you take several Snaps in a row and then edit and send them together.
Fewer tools
The up arrow at the bottom. Folds the toolbar back to the short version without names.
Chat
The Chat tab lists your conversations, newest first. The small icon under each name tells you what is going on in that chat.
Chat filters
The All and Unread buttons above your conversations. Tap Unread to show only chats you have not opened, and All to see everything again.
Camera reply
The camera on the right of a row. Tap it to open the camera and send that friend a Snap straight away.
Snap button
The blue camera with the word Snap. It does the same as the camera icon: tap it to send this friend a Snap.
Greeting sticker
A round sticker, such as Hey there, with Snap under it, shown for friends you have not talked to yet. Tap it to send them a quick greeting Snap with that sticker.
New chat
The pencil on a speech bubble, in the blue circle at the bottom right. Tap it to start a new chat or a group with friends you pick.
Status symbols. These only show information. They are not buttons.
New Chat
A filled blue speech bubble. Your friend sent you a Chat that you have not opened yet. Tap the row to read it.
Nothing new
A gray outline bubble. There is nothing new in this conversation. Next to it, Snapchat shows a prompt: Say hi! for someone who just added you, or Double-tap to Snap, which opens the camera when you double-tap the row.
Stories
The Stories tab shows Stories from friends, the creators you follow and Discover, which is picked for you.
Story ring
A colored ring around someone's picture means they have a Story you have not watched yet. Tap the picture to watch it.
Add friend
The purple badge with a person and a plus under a picture. Tap it to send that person a friend request.
See all Following
The small arrow next to Following. Tap it to see every creator and account you follow. Tap a tile in the row below to watch that Story.
Discover tile
Each large tile under Discover is a show or channel from a publisher or creator. Tap it to start watching.
Spotlight
Spotlight is the tab with the play button: a feed of short public videos that you swipe up through. The buttons sit on the right, with the video details at the bottom left.
Top bar and video details
Post to Spotlight
The rectangle with a plus in the top-right corner. Tap it to make a video and post it to Spotlight.
Original sound
The sound bars at the bottom left. Tap the row to see the sound used in the video and other videos that use it.
Status symbols. These only show information. They are not buttons.
View count
The play arrow and number above the creator's name show how many times this video has been watched.
Side buttons
Creator profile
The round picture at the top of the right-hand buttons. Tap it to open the creator's profile.
Subscribe
The yellow plus under the creator's picture. Tap it to subscribe and see more from this creator.
Like
The heart. Tap it to like the video.
Comments
The speech bubble with a number. Tap it to read comments or add your own.
Share
The curved arrow. Tap it to send the video to friends in Chat or share it outside Snapchat. The number shows how many times it has been shared.
More options
The three dots at the bottom. Opens more options for this video, such as reporting it.
Explore (Lenses)
Tap Explore, the middle button of the tab bar on the camera, to browse every Lens. Snapchat picks some for you, and the tabs sort the rest by type.
Back
The down arrow in the top-left corner. Closes Lenses and takes you back to the camera.
Search Lenses
The search bar. Type a word to find a Lens by name or theme.
Lens categories
The tabs under the search bar: For You, Recents, Face, World and Music. Tap one to see that kind of Lens; Recents holds the ones you used lately.
Lens tile
Each tile is a Lens. Tap it to open the camera with that Lens on, ready to take a Snap.
Profile
Tap your Bitmoji in the top-left corner of any tab to open your profile. The top half shows your Bitmoji and Snapcode, and below it are your Stories and friends.
Bitmoji and Snapcode
Back
The left arrow. Closes your profile and takes you back to the tab you came from.
Share profile
The three connected dots. Tap it to share your Snapcode, your profile link or your username so people can add you.
Settings
The gear. Opens Snapchat settings for your account, privacy and notifications.
Change outfit
The clothes hanger. Tap it to change the outfit your Bitmoji is wearing.
Pose and background
The picture icon on the right. Tap it to change your Bitmoji's pose and the background behind it.
Snapcode
The yellow square with your Bitmoji in it. People can scan it with the Snapchat camera to add you. Tap it to share or save your Snapcode.
Your details
Birthday
The balloon with a date is your birthday. On the day, your friends see a cake next to your name.
Snap Score
The ghost with a number is your Snap Score. It goes up as you send and receive Snaps and post Stories.
Zodiac sign
Your star sign, based on your birthday. Tap it to see your astrological profile.
Story Boost
The rocket. Tap it to see ways to get more people to view your Story.
My Public Profile
Your Bitmoji with a blue plus. Opens your public profile, which anyone on Snapchat can see, not just friends.
My Stories and countdowns
Add to My Story
The blue camera. Opens the camera to post a Snap to your Story. Friends Only under it shows who can see your Story right now.
Story options
The three dots on the Add to My Story row. Opens settings for your Story, such as who can view it.
New Private Story
The lock. Tap it to make a Story that only the friends you pick can see.
New Shared Story
The group of people. Tap it to make a Story that you and your friends can all add Snaps to.
Countdown
The calendar with a plus. Tap it to count down to a date, either on your own or with friends you invite.
Friends and school
Add Friends
The person with a plus. Opens Add friends. The blue number is how many people added you that you have not added back yet.
My Friends
The list with people. Tap it to see everyone on your friends list.
Add school
The graduation cap. Tap it to add your school and join its community, where you can view the Community Story.
Add friends
Tap the person with a plus at the top of any tab to open Add friends. People who added you are at the top, and Quick Add suggests people you may know.
Search and Added Me
Close
The down arrow in the top-left corner. Closes Add friends.
Search
The search bar. Type a name or username to find someone on Snapchat.
Scan Snapcode
The ghost in a square at the end of the search bar. Tap it to scan someone's Snapcode and add them.
Invite your friends
The contact card with a tick. Tap it to invite people from your phone's contacts to join Snapchat.
Chat
The yellow button with a speech bubble, next to someone who added you. Tap it to send them a Chat.
Snap
The yellow button with a camera. Tap it to open the camera and send that person a Snap.
Quick Add
Add
The yellow Add button with a person and a plus. Tap it to send a friend request.
Hide
The X on the right. Removes that person from your Quick Add suggestions.
Status symbols. These only show information. They are not buttons.
Active recently
The green dot on a picture means that person was active on Snapchat in the last day.
Snap arrows, Friend Emojis and planets
These icons change from friend to friend, so you rarely see them all on one screen. Here is what each color, emoji and planet means.
Dots and badges
Small coloured dots and badges that show up on names, profiles and icons.
Snapchat planets
Snapchat+ shows a friend's top 8 Best Friends as a solar system. Tap the Best Friends badge on a friend's profile to see which planet you are, which shows where you rank in their list.
Snap and Chat status
The arrows and squares next to each conversation. Arrows are things you sent, squares are things you received. Red is a Snap without sound, purple is a Snap with sound, and blue is a Chat.
Friend Emojis
Emojis next to your friends' names. They change based on how you and your friends Snap each other.
Those are the meanings of Snapchat icons and symbols. Snapchat adds new Lenses, tools and Snapchat+ features all the time, so we update this guide every time the icons change, and you can bookmark this page to stay updated. These screens are from Snapchat for Android, and most icons mean the same thing on iPhone. For more icon guides, you can also visit our TechPP icon guides.
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