🌌 How Snapchat Planets Compare to Other Gamified Social Features

In the ever-evolving landscape of social media, apps are constantly finding new ways to keep users engaged. One trend that’s taken hold is gamified social interaction—where digital friendships are ranked, tracked, and rewarded just like achievements in a game. Snapchat’s Friend Solar System, often referred to as Snapchat Planets, is a prime example.

But how does this unique feature stack up against other gamified social tools? Let’s take a closer look at the mechanics behind Snapchat Planets and how it compares to similar systems used across social platforms and apps.

🚀 A Quick Breakdown of Snapchat Planets

Available exclusively to Snapchat+ subscribers, the Snapchat Planets feature assigns your top 8 friends a planet in your personal solar system. You’re the “Sun,” and your closest interactions revolve around you based on activity—snaps, chats, reactions, and replies.

Each planet correlates to a friendship rank:

• Mercury = #1 best friend
  
  
• Venus = #2, and so on, through Neptune at #8
  
  

The visual layout is colorful and interactive, giving users a space-themed interpretation of their social proximity. It’s both engaging and slightly competitive—many users strive to become someone’s Mercury, while others casually browse the lineup.

Interestingly, the popularity of features like this demonstrates how gamification is shaping the way we interpret online relationships. This same logic is what powers platforms like Highroller, the innovative and expanding igaming destination, where engagement and progression are gamified through play, rewards, and themed mechanics designed to keep users immersed.

🎮 What Is Gamification in Social Platforms?

Gamification refers to applying game-like mechanics—points, levels, rankings, or rewards—to non-game environments. On social media, this can include:

• Streaks or badges (e.g., Snapchat Streaks)
  
  
• Follower counts and engagement rates (Instagram, TikTok)
  
  
• Interaction rankings (e.g., Facebook’s “Top Fan”)
  
  
• Hidden or visible metrics that influence status within the platform
  
  

These mechanics aren’t just for fun—they’re engineered to drive retention, encourage more frequent interaction, and deepen user loyalty.

According to a report from the Interaction Design Foundation, gamification increases user motivation by giving immediate feedback and rewarding progress, even in social contexts.

🧭 Snapchat vs. Other Gamified Features

Let’s break down how Snapchat Planets compare to similar systems on other platforms:

1. Snapchat Planets vs. Snapchat Streaks

While both exist within Snapchat, they offer different forms of recognition:

• Streaks are binary—either you keep the streak alive or you don’t.
  
  
• Planets offer a tiered system with multiple ranks and more visual depth.
  
  

The Planets feature feels more nuanced and qualitative, tracking overall interaction rather than just daily consistency.

2. Instagram Close Friends List

Instagram allows users to create a private “Close Friends” list for Stories. It’s a manual selection and not based on interaction. In contrast:

• Snapchat Planets update automatically based on actual user behavior.
  
  
• They provide a gamified visual layout instead of just a green ring on a story.
  
  

3. BeReal’s “RealMoji” and Reaction Tracking

BeReal encourages authenticity, and while it doesn’t offer “friend rankings,” it does track who reacts to your content. You can even view reaction history, adding subtle competition to the mix.

Snapchat Planets go further by making the interaction history central and visual, adding a progression model similar to gaming leaderboards.

4. Discord’s Role Levels & Activity Badges

Discord servers often use bots to assign roles or levels based on chat activity. These roles can unlock channels, give permissions, or just act as status symbols.

Similarly, Snapchat Planets offer a form of soft reward—the social satisfaction of seeing your position rise in someone else’s friend universe.

🪐 Are Planets More Than Just Fun?

There’s a psychological element to these systems. Being assigned a “planet” can trigger emotional reactions—from joy at being someone’s Mercury to confusion at being bumped to Saturn.

This emotional gamification mirrors the kind used in many interactive platforms, where players are driven by feedback loops. In fact, gamified experiences like those offered on Highroller, use similar design principles to increase player satisfaction through progression and achievement-based interaction.

🔒 Privacy & Opt-In Mechanics

One major shift happened in April 2024, when Snapchat made the Friend Solar System feature opt-in due to concerns about emotional pressure and social comparison. Users must now:

• Subscribe to Snapchat+
  
  
• Manually turn on the feature
  
  
• Navigate to a friend’s profile and tap the badge to view the planet layout
  
  

This change reflects a growing awareness around mental wellness in digital gamification, and the need for user control.

🌠 Final Thoughts

Snapchat Planets represent a creative and immersive take on social interaction. Unlike static lists or manual features, the Planets evolve dynamically—rewarding closeness with color, motion, and metaphor. While other platforms offer gamified tools, few have matched the interactive visual flair of Snapchat’s Solar System.

Whether you’re orbiting someone’s digital sun or just exploring new social mechanics, one thing’s clear: gamification is reshaping how we relate to each other online—and it’s here to stay.