Change Your Snapchat Emojis in Three Steps
You can change which emojis appear next to your friends' names in Snapchat by editing your Friend Emoji settings. Open Snapchat, tap your profile icon in the top left, select Settings (the gear icon), then tap Friend Emojis. From there you can pick a new emoji set or turn the feature off entirely. The change takes effect when ready for your account only — your friends will see whatever emoji set they have chosen for themselves.
Snapchat comes with several built-in emoji sets, and you can also restore the original set if you have changed it before. The process takes less than a minute and requires no special permissions or account changes.
Key Takeaways
- Friend Emojis appear next to your friends' names in your chat list and are controlled by your own settings, not theirs.
- You reach Friend Emoji settings through your profile icon, then Settings, then the Friend Emojis option.
- Snapchat offers multiple pre-made emoji sets to choose from, including the original set.
- Changing your emoji set does not affect what your friends see next to their own names in your chat list.
Where to Find the Friend Emojis Setting
Open the Snapchat app and look for your profile icon — a small circle or image in the top left corner of the screen. Tap it to open your profile page. You will see a gear icon (Settings) in the top right corner of your profile. Tap the gear icon.
Scroll down the Settings menu until you see the option labeled Friend Emojis. Tap it. You are now in the Friend Emojis menu, where you can see your current emoji set and choose a different one.
Choosing a New Emoji Set
When you open Friend Emojis, you will see your current set displayed at the top. Below that are other emoji sets available to you. Each set shows a preview of what the emojis look like. Tap any set to switch to it when ready.
Snapchat typically offers between five and eight different emoji sets at any given time. The sets have names like "Classic," "Smileys," "Animals," or "Shapes" depending on the theme. You can switch between sets as often as you want — there is no limit to how many times you change your choice.
What Friend Emojis Actually Do
Friend Emojis are small icons that appear next to your friends' names in your chat list. They help you identify your friends at a glance and can represent your relationship or how often you talk to them. For example, one emoji might mean you message that friend every day, while a different emoji might mean you have not chatted in a while.
The emoji that appears next to a friend's name is determined by Snapchat's algorithm based on your messaging patterns with that person. You cannot manually assign emojis to individual friends — the app does this automatically. However, you can change the entire emoji set so that all the emojis in your chat list change at once.
Turning Friend Emojis Off Completely
If you do not want emojis to appear next to your friends' names at all, you can turn the feature off. In the Friend Emojis menu, look for an option to disable or turn off the feature — this is usually a toggle switch at the top or bottom of the menu. Tap it to turn Friend Emojis off.
When you turn off Friend Emojis, no icons will appear next to any of your friends' names in your chat list. You can turn the feature back on at any time by returning to the same menu and toggling it back on. Your previous emoji set choice will be remembered if you turn the feature off and then back on later.
Restoring the Original Emoji Set
If you have changed your emoji set and want to go back to the original, you can do so from the Friend Emojis menu. Look for an option labeled "Default," "Original," or "Classic" — the exact name depends on your Snapchat version. Tap it to restore the emoji set Snapchat used when you first created your account.
Snapchat always keeps the original set available, so you will never be locked into a new set if you change your mind. Switching back takes the same amount of time as switching to any other set.
Why Your Friends See Different Emojis Than You Do
Each person on Snapchat controls their own emoji set independently. This means your friends will see a completely different set of emojis next to your name than the set you see next to theirs. If your friend has chosen the "Animals" emoji set and you have chosen the "Smileys" set, you will see a smiley next to their name while they see an animal next to yours.
This is by design — Snapchat lets each user customize their own experience without affecting anyone else's view. There is no way to force your friends to see the same emoji set you do, and there is no shared or universal emoji set that everyone sees.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I create my own custom emoji set?
No, Snapchat does not allow you to create custom emoji sets. You can only choose from the pre-made sets that Snapchat provides in your Friend Emojis menu. The available sets change occasionally as Snapchat updates the app.
Do my friends know when I change my emoji set?
No, your friends do not receive a notification when you change your emoji set. They will straightforward see a different emoji next to your name the next time they open their chat list, but they will not know you made the change.
What if the Friend Emojis option is not showing up in my settings?
Make sure you are running the latest version of Snapchat by checking your app store for updates. Friend Emojis is a standard feature, but older versions of the app may not have it. If you have updated and still do not see it, try logging out and back in, or uninstalling and reinstalling the app.
Can I change emojis for just one friend instead of all of them?
No, changing your emoji set changes the emojis for all your friends at once. Snapchat does not allow you to assign different emoji sets to different friends. The emoji that appears next to each friend's name is determined by Snapchat's algorithm, not by your choice.