Open Snapchat and go to your profile

To change your best friend emoji, start by opening the Snapchat app on your phone. Tap your profile icon in the top-left corner of the camera screen — it's a circle with your face or avatar in it.

Once your profile opens, you'll see your username, display name, and a row of icons below your name. Look for the three vertical dots (called a menu icon) in the top-right corner of your profile screen and tap it. This menu gives you access to all your profile settings, including where you manage your best friends list and their assigned emojis.

Find the best friends settings

After you tap the menu icon, a list of options appears. Scroll down until you see "Friendship Profiles" or "Best Friends" — the exact wording depends on your app version, but it will mention friends or best friends. This section is where Snapchat stores all the information about your closest contacts.

Tap that option. Snapchat will show you a list of your current best friends and the emoji assigned to each one. The emoji appears next to their name and is what shows up on their profile and in your chat list. Each friend has one emoji tied to them, and you can change it whenever you want.

Select the friend whose emoji you want to change

Find the friend in the list whose emoji you want to change. Tap their name or profile to open their friendship profile page. This page is dedicated to that one friend and shows you all the details Snapchat tracks about your friendship with them.

On this page, you'll see their username, a photo or avatar, and below that, the current emoji assigned to them. This is the emoji that appears next to their name throughout Snapchat — in your chat list, on their profile, and anywhere else their name shows up in the app.

Tap the emoji to open the emoji picker

Look for the emoji displayed on their friendship profile — it's usually shown as a larger icon below their name or near their profile picture. Tap directly on that emoji. Make sure you're tapping the emoji itself and not another part of the profile, or the picker won't open.

A menu of emoji options will pop up on your screen. Snapchat shows you a selection of different emojis you can choose from. Scroll through the list to find the one you want to use for this friend. The selection is limited to emojis Snapchat has made available, not your phone's full emoji keyboard.

Choose your new emoji and confirm

Once you find the emoji you want, tap it to select it. The emoji will when ready replace the old one on your friend's profile. You don't need to tap a "save" or "confirm" button — the change happens right away when you tap your choice.

Go back to your profile or your chat list, and you'll see the new emoji next to your friend's name. The change is visible only to you; your friend won't see which emoji you've assigned to them. Snapchat keeps your emoji choices private and doesn't notify friends when you change them.

Change multiple friends' emojis the same way

If you want to change emojis for other friends, repeat the same steps. Go back to your Friendship Profiles list, select another friend, tap their current emoji, and pick a new one. You can do this as many times as you want and change emojis back and forth without any limits.

You can assign the same emoji to multiple friends if you want — Snapchat doesn't require each friend to have a unique emoji. Many people use the same emoji for groups of friends or for friends they interact with in similar ways. For example, you might use a fire emoji for all your closest friends or a heart for family members.

Troubleshooting if the emoji picker doesn't appear

If you tap the emoji but nothing happens, make sure you're tapping directly on the emoji itself and not on the friend's name or another part of the profile. Sometimes the tap area is small, so aim for the center of the emoji icon.

If the picker still won't open, try closing the Snapchat app completely and opening it again. You can also check your phone's app store to see if there's a newer version of Snapchat available — older versions sometimes have bugs that prevent the emoji picker from working. Once you update, the feature should work normally.

Key Takeaways

  • Open your Snapchat profile, tap the menu icon (three dots), and select "Friendship Profiles" to see your best friends and their assigned emojis.
  • Tap the name of the friend whose emoji you want to change to open their friendship profile page.
  • Tap the emoji displayed on their profile to open the emoji picker and choose a new one from Snapchat's available selection.
  • The emoji change happens when ready and is visible only to you, not to your friend.
  • You can assign the same emoji to multiple friends or change emojis as often as you want without any restrictions.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can my friend see which emoji I assigned to them?

No. The emoji you assign to a friend is private and only visible to you. Your friend cannot see it, and Snapchat doesn't notify them when you change it. The emoji is purely for your own organization of your contacts.

What if I don't see the emoji picker when I tap the emoji?

Make sure you're tapping directly on the emoji itself, not just the friend's name or another part of their profile. If you're still having trouble, try closing and reopening the Snapchat app, or check that you have the latest version installed from your phone's app store.

Can I use any emoji or only certain ones?

Snapchat provides a limited selection of emojis in the picker menu — you can't use every emoji from your phone's keyboard. The available options change occasionally, but you'll see all the ones you can choose from when you tap the emoji picker.

What happens if I remove someone from my best friends list?

If you remove a friend from your best friends list, the emoji assignment is deleted along with them. If you add them back later, you'll need to assign a new emoji to them from scratch.

Do I need to do anything special to save the emoji change?

No. The emoji change saves automatically as soon as you tap your new choice. You don't need to confirm, save, or close any dialog — the change is when ready and permanent until you change it again.