What Do Icons, Symbols, Emojis Mean on Snapchat - Complete Guide - TechWiser (2024)

by Gaurav Bidasaria

written by Gaurav Bidasaria 0 comment

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

Table of Contents

Snapchat Profile Icons

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

What Do Icons, Symbols, Emojis Mean on Snapchat - Complete Guide - TechWiser (1)

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

Menubar at Top-Right Corner

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  • Cog Icon – the first one at the top is the universal Settings icon.
  • Yellow background with two cards – will open Memories at the bottom of the screen where you will find favorite/saved snaps
  • Blue globe icon – opens the map in larger view so you can explore not just your area but the entire city or state.
  • T in small caps – Ticketmaster integration that will display all the live events like sports, music, etc. that you can attend.
  • Satellite in green background – view the map in satellite view.
  • Blowhorn – Infatuation integration which works the same as Ticketmaster but for restaurants, hotels, and eateries.

Arrow Above Places Icon

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  • Tapping on the navigation arrow icon will take you back to your present location on the map.
  • The first icon next to the search bar at the bottom is the Bitmoji icon. Tap on it to choose your avatar and set it up.
  • The second avatar icon is the contact closest to you on the map.

Places

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

What Do Icons, Symbols, Emojis Mean on Snapchat - Complete Guide - TechWiser (4)
  • Heart Icon – tap to save place to 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 bodies) means there is a new custom story
What Do Icons, Symbols, Emojis Mean on Snapchat - Complete Guide - TechWiser (5)
  • Group of People With + Icon – On the same screen where you can share a selected place with other friends, you can create a group of select friends to plan an activity
  • Graph With Bars Symbol – It represents how busy it is or footfall in the chosen place or location. The longer the bar, the higher the number of people visiting the place
What Do Icons, Symbols, Emojis Mean on Snapchat - Complete Guide - TechWiser (6)

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.

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

What Do Icons, Symbols, Emojis Mean on Snapchat - Complete Guide - TechWiser (8)Red solid arrow – Your friend request was not accepted (depends on privacy settings)
What Do Icons, Symbols, Emojis Mean on Snapchat - Complete Guide - TechWiser (9)Purple solid arrow – Snap with audio was sent
What Do Icons, Symbols, Emojis Mean on Snapchat - Complete Guide - TechWiser (10)Blue solid arrow You sent a chat message
What Do Icons, Symbols, Emojis Mean on Snapchat - Complete Guide - TechWiser (11)Grey solid arrow – Your friend’s request was not accepted (depends on privacy settings)
What Do Icons, Symbols, Emojis Mean on Snapchat - Complete Guide - TechWiser (12)Red empty arrow – Your friend opened snap message without audio
What Do Icons, Symbols, Emojis Mean on Snapchat - Complete Guide - TechWiser (13)Purple empty arrow – Your friend opened smap with audio
What Do Icons, Symbols, Emojis Mean on Snapchat - Complete Guide - TechWiser (14)Blue empty arrow – Your friend opened a chat message
What Do Icons, Symbols, Emojis Mean on Snapchat - Complete Guide - TechWiser (15)Red solid square – You have unseen snap without audio
What Do Icons, Symbols, Emojis Mean on Snapchat - Complete Guide - TechWiser (16)Purple solid square – You have unseen snap with audio
What Do Icons, Symbols, Emojis Mean on Snapchat - Complete Guide - TechWiser (17)Blue solid square – You have unread message
What Do Icons, Symbols, Emojis Mean on Snapchat - Complete Guide - TechWiser (18)Red empty square – Your snap without audio was seen
What Do Icons, Symbols, Emojis Mean on Snapchat - Complete Guide - TechWiser (19)Purple empty square – Your snap with audio was seen
What Do Icons, Symbols, Emojis Mean on Snapchat - Complete Guide - TechWiser (20)Blue empty square – Your chat message was viewed
What Do Icons, Symbols, Emojis Mean on Snapchat - Complete Guide - TechWiser (21)Grey empty square – Chat message is pending and might have expired
What Do Icons, Symbols, Emojis Mean on Snapchat - Complete Guide - TechWiser (22)Red empty double arrow – Screenshot of your snap without audio was taken
What Do Icons, Symbols, Emojis Mean on Snapchat - Complete Guide - TechWiser (23)Purple empty double arrow – Screenshot of your snap with audio was taken
What Do Icons, Symbols, Emojis Mean on Snapchat - Complete Guide - TechWiser (24)Blue empty double arrow – Screenshot of your chat message taken
What Do Icons, Symbols, Emojis Mean on Snapchat - Complete Guide - TechWiser (25)Red circular arrow – Your snap without audio was replayed
What Do Icons, Symbols, Emojis Mean on Snapchat - Complete Guide - TechWiser (26)Purple circular arrow – Your snap with audio was replayed
What Do Icons, Symbols, Emojis Mean on Snapchat - Complete Guide - TechWiser (27)
  • Yellow dot icon on add people icon – it means you have new friends’ suggestions. May also mean new friend requests.
  • Blue dot icon on chat tab – in the above screenshot, you will also see a blue dot icon at the bottom. That means you have an unread chat message or snap.
  • Camera icon – tapping on that next to the name of the profile will initiate a snap that will be sent to that person only.
  • 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.

Chat Screen

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

What Do Icons, Symbols, Emojis Mean on Snapchat - Complete Guide - TechWiser (28)
  • Phone icon – make an audio call to the person
  • Video camera icon at top – make a video call to the person
  • Camera icon at bottom – send a snap
  • Microphone icon – record and send a voice or audio message
  • Smiley – send emojis
  • Two cards icon – view all photos sent or received in Snapchat Memories

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
Capricon for December 22 to January 19
Aquarius sign for January 20 to February 18
Pisces sign for February 19 to March 20

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

What Do Icons, Symbols, Emojis Mean on Snapchat - Complete Guide - TechWiser (29)
  • Person with plus icon – allows you to add a new friend.
  • Two arrows forming rectangle – switch from back to front camera or vice versa
  • Lightning with cross icon – enable and adjust on-screen flash with three colors and two shapes
  • Smiley icon with plus sign – selfie setting to apply filters to enhance photos
  • Handicam icon – video recording option (takes you to another screen with separate icons that we will explain below)
  • Music icon – add music or sounds to your Snap
  • Dual camera icon – create snap with both front and back camera at the same time
  • Moon icon – night mode option for taking snaps in the dark
  • Plus icon – More options like timer, focus mode, multi-snaps, tones, etc.

Here is a screenshot of the video camera screen. Snapchat displays what each icon means here but only for half a second. Then the icon’s names disappear. We took a screenshot so you will know what each icon means on video recording screen of Snapchat.

What Do Icons, Symbols, Emojis Mean on Snapchat - Complete Guide - TechWiser (30)

Stories Tab

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

What Do Icons, Symbols, Emojis Mean on Snapchat - Complete Guide - TechWiser (31)

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

  • 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.

What Do Icons, Symbols, Emojis Mean on Snapchat - Complete Guide - TechWiser (32)
  • 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
  • Solid right grey arrow – share this story with someone else
  • Three-dot icon – report, remix, share snap with someone

By the way, did you find a song playing on Snapchat story? Learn how to identify that song playing using Shazam right inside Snapchat.

iconsSnapchatsocial mediasymbols

What Do Icons, Symbols, Emojis Mean on Snapchat - Complete Guide - TechWiser (33)

Gaurav Bidasaria

Gaurav is an editor here at TechWiser but also contributes as a writer. He has more than 10 years of experience as a writer and has written how-to guides, comparisons, listicles, and in-depth explainers on Windows, Android, web, and cloud apps, and the Apple ecosystem.He loves tinkering with new gadgets and learning about new happenings in the tech world.He has previously worked on Guiding Tech, Make Tech Easier, and other prominent tech blogs and has over 1000+ articles that have been read over 50 million times.

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What Do Icons, Symbols, Emojis Mean on Snapchat - Complete Guide - TechWiser (2024)

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