Snapchat uses emojis, colors, and symbols to denote specific things on the app, but what does a sunglasses emoji mean next to a person's name? Snapchat has a lot of fun features that let users express themselves with their circle of acquaintances in unexpected ways. For instance, individuals who are in constant communication with each other can be assigned a special symbol that will show up next to their usernames based on certain parameters they fulfill.
Each user gets up to eight best friends on Snapchat, and each of the eight users is assigned one of the 'Friend Emojis' predetermined by Snapchat. These friends are the people that user interacts with the most and sends the most snaps to. As an indicator of their high-frequency connections, the Friend Emojis signify achievements like when they exchange snaps over a consecutive number of days, also known as a Snapchat Streak. One of the emojis included in Snapchat’s ‘Friend Emoji’ list is the emoji of a smiley face wearing a pair of sunglasses. When the unique character appears next to a person's username, it means that they share 'Mutual BFs' with that user on the app.
Decoding Snapchat’s Friend Emojis
The smiley with sunglasses emoji, aka 'Mutual BFs' is sort of the lowest on the totem pole of Snapchat best friend rankings. On Snapchat, when a user sees the sunglasses emoticon next to another contact's username, that means that one of that person's best Snapchat friends is also one of the user's best friends. In other words, it signifies a friend of a friend. In Snapchat speak, 'BF' means 'best friend' (or 'bestie' for short) and is a person the user sends a lot of snaps to.
From the list of default Snapchat emojis designed to keep track of a user's friends on the platform, six icons refer to a certain level of best-friendship. Half of these symbols refer to people who are each other's primary best friend (and the Snap Streaks they respectively share). The other half pertains to close acquaintances shared by people who aren't necessarily each other's number one friend on the app.
Other Friend Emoji Meanings On Snapchat
The emojis are much sought-after symbols of friendship between dedicated Snapchat users and serve as a lure to keep drawing users back to the app. The flame emoji, for example, is indicative of a ‘Snapstreak,’ appearing for users who send Snaps back and forth with a given friend every day consecutively for long periods of time — and users work hard to keep the streak going. If one of the two users maintaining a Snapstreak misses a day (Snaps must be sent within 24 hours), they’ll lose the streak. Other friend emojis include the coveted double pink heart, or ‘Super BFF,’ for those who have been each other’s #1 best friend for two months straight and the yellow heart for ‘Besties.’
Snapchat's 'Friend Emoji' list is prefixed and at this point, it is considered a second language on the app. However, the platform provides an option to modify emojis. For example, a mermaid emoticon can be used to signify 'Super BFF status' instead of the usual double-heart. Customized emojis are a great way for users to assign more meaningful symbols to their friendships on the platform and to showcase a user's personality more in a way that improves their overall experience on the app. Changing Snapchat emojis will only work on the user's Snapchat account and will appear differently on other people's devices.
Source: Snapchat