What the Sunglasses Emoji Means on Snapchat in 2026 [and How to Remove It]

What Does the Emoji With Sunglasses Mean on Snapchat?

Let's get the official answer out of the way first.

The sunglasses emoji on Snapchat means you and this person share a mutual best friend. In other words, one of your top Snapchat contacts is also one of their top Snapchat contacts. That's it. Really.

Snapchat's algorithm tracks who you message most frequently and ranks them as your "Best Friends." When you and another person both have the same person in your respective Best Friends lists, Snapchat slaps a sunglasses emoji (😎) next to their name to let you know.

And NO, it's not a romantic signal. It's not a secret code. It's just the app saying, "Hey, you two have overlapping social circles."

So understand that the sunglasses emoji is a neutral, algorithmic marker of shared connections - nothing more, nothing less.

Why Am I Seeing the Sunglasses Emoji With Someone?

If you’re like most Snapchat users, the Sunglasses emoji might have caught you off guard. And now you’re probably asking why you’re seeing it. Here’s why:

Reason #1: You Both Message the Same Person Frequently

The most common reason for the sunglasses emoji is straightforward: you and this person are both actively messaging the same third person.

Here are some typical scenarios where this happens:

Scenario 1: Siblings or family members. If you and your brother both snap your mom constantly, you'll see the sunglasses emoji next to his name. Same goes for cousins, siblings, or anyone else in your family group.

Scenario 2: Classmates or study groups. Maybe you and a classmate both message your professor or a group project partner all the time. The algorithm doesn't care that it's about homework - it just sees the overlap and adds the emoji.

Scenario 3: Partners or mutual friends. If your girlfriend or boyfriend has the sunglasses emoji next to someone else's name, it means they're both messaging the same person frequently. Before you panic, remember: it could be a sibling, a coworker, a friend from their hometown, or literally anyone.

Note:

The emoji doesn't tell you who the mutual friend is, just that one exists.

Reason #2: Your Shared Best Friend Recently Became Active

Snapchat updates its friend emojis daily based on your activity over the past week or so. This means emojis can appear or disappear seemingly out of nowhere.

Let's say your mutual best friend took a Snapchat break for a few days. During that time, neither you nor the other person were messaging them much, so the sunglasses emoji wasn't there. Then, your mutual friend comes back online and starts snapping everyone again. Boom! Suddenly the sunglasses emoji reappears.

So the sunglasses emoji on snapchat is more of “activity” than the literal relationship between you and other snapchatters.

How to Get the Sunglasses Emoji on Snapchat

Maybe you're reading this and thinking, "Wait, I want the sunglasses emoji with someone. How do I make that happen?"

Great question. Here's the deal:

You can't force it directly, but you can influence it by understanding how the algorithm works.

So to get the sunglasses emoji with someone, you need to create a situation where you both share a mutual best friend. That means:

Start messaging someone you know the other person also messages frequently. If you and your friend both have a mutual buddy, make sure you're snapping that mutual buddy regularly. The more you both interact with the same person, the more likely Snapchat's algorithm will recognize the overlap and award you the sunglasses emoji.

But keep in mind, though, that this isn't instant. And it may take some time before you see that cool glassed emoji. So be patient with it.

How to Remove the Sunglasses Emoji on Snapchat

Okay, so maybe you're on the other side of this. Maybe the sunglasses emoji is annoying you out, and you want it gone. Good news: there are a few ways to make that happen.

#1. Reduce Messaging With the Shared Best Friend

The simplest way to remove the sunglasses emoji is to stop messaging your mutual best friend as frequently. If you reduce your messaging frequency with that mutual friend, Snapchat's algorithm will eventually drop them from your Best Friends list.

However, this isn't an overnight fix. Since Snapchat updates emojis daily based on about a week's worth of data, it'll take a few days, weeks, or even of reduced activity before you see the change. But if you're patient, it works.

The downside?

You're literally messaging a friend less just to change an emoji. If that feels silly to you, you're not wrong. Which brings us to the next option.

#2. Increase Messaging With Other People

Instead of reducing messages to one person, you can shift the algorithm by increasing messages to other people.

Snapchat's Best Friends list is based on who you message most, not who you message at all. So if you start snapping other friends more often, you'll dilute the weight of your mutual best friend in the algorithm.

And eventually, someone else will take their spot in your top contacts, and the sunglasses emoji will vanish.

The upside?

You're not cutting anyone off. You're just broadening your social circle on Snapchat, which is arguably a healthier approach anyway.

#3. Customize Friend Emojis Manually

If you don't want to mess with your messaging patterns at all, there's a third option: just change the emoji manually. Snapchat lets you customize what each friend emoji looks like in your settings.

Here's how:

• Open Snapchat and tap your profile icon in the top left corner.
• Tap the gear icon to open Settings.
• Scroll down to "Additional Services" and tap "Manage."
• Select "Friend Emojis."
• Find "Mutual BFs" (that's the sunglasses emoji) and tap it.
• Choose a different emoji from the list, or even pick one that's less noticeable.

And that’s it!

However, this doesn't change the underlying algorithm - you and the other person still share a mutual best friend. But it does mean you won't have to see the sunglasses emoji staring back at you every time you open Snapchat. No.

The upside?

You’re taking back control - not letting the algorithm decide which emoji you see when texting with that special person or that snapchatter.

Snapchat Emoji List 2025 - Where the Sunglasses Emoji Fits

To really understand the sunglasses emoji, it helps to see where it fits in Snapchat's larger emoji ecosystem. Here's a quick rundown of the most common friend emojis you'll encounter in 2025 onwards:

As you can see, the sunglasses emoji is pretty low-stakes compared to some of the others. It's not about your direct relationship with the person - it's just a fun little indicator that you run in similar circles.

The whole point here is to understand that the sunglasses emoji is just one small piece of Snapchat's gamified social system, and it's far from the most significant one.

Bonus Tips: Make Your Snapchat Experience More Fun

If you've made it this far, you're probably either (a) deeply invested in Snapchat's friend emoji system, or (b) trying to decode what someone else's emoji means. Either way, here are a few extra tips to make your Snapchat experience a little more enjoyable - and a little less stressful.

Tip 1: Don't overthink the emojis. Seriously. Snapchat's friend emojis are designed to be playful markers of activity, not definitive statements about your relationships. If you find yourself spiraling over an emoji change, take a step back and remember: it's an algorithm, not a person making judgments about your friendships.

Tip 2: Customize emojis to reduce anxiety. If certain emojis stress you out (looking at you, grimace face), just change them to something neutral. You'll still get the information, but without the emotional baggage.

Tip 3: Focus on actual communication. The best way to know where you stand with someone isn't to analyze their Snapchat emojis - it's to actually talk to them.

Tip 4: Have fun with Snapstreaks and emojis. If you enjoy the gamification aspect of Snapchat, lean into it! Set goals, try to get certain emojis with friends, and treat it like the game it is. Just don't let it become a source of stress.

That’s it!

And if you're looking to add a little creativity to your snaps with your shared best friend, tools like Pixpretty AI figure generatorcan help you create fun, unique images to keep your streaks alive and entertaining.

Because at the end of the day, Snapchat is supposed to be fun - not a source of relationship anxiety.

Conclusion

The sunglasses emoji on Snapchat means you and another person share a mutual best friend. It's not romantic, it's not a secret message, and it's definitely not worth losing sleep over.

The emoji appears because Snapchat's algorithm noticed that you both message the same person frequently. It updates daily, so it can come and go based on recent activity.

And if you don't like it? You can influence it by changing your messaging habits, or you can just customize it to a different emoji in your settings.

Because at the end of the day, Snapchat's friend emojis are fun little indicators of your social activity - nothing more, nothing less. And definitely not personal judgments about your friendships or relationships.

Now go and create that custom AI action figure and snap it to your friend…