what does this symbol mean?

Social media icons and badges

The badges and icons on Twitch, Discord, Snapchat, Instagram and TikTok, and what each one shows.

These pages cover the badges and icons on five platforms: Twitch badges, Discord badges, Snapchat friend emoji, Instagram icons and TikTok symbols. Each page gives the meanings as the platform’s help centre described them in September 2026, and adds what a help article leaves out: when a badge or icon arrived, which ones have been retired, and what the platform’s developer documentation, newsroom or the press said at the time. Instagram’s help centre has no single page of icons, so that page puts together what Instagram and Meta say about each one.

Badges in chat and on profiles

Twitch’s developer documentation writes each chat badge as a name and a version, such as admin/1. Most badges have one version; subscriber badges have one for each length of subscription. The lead moderator badge arrived on 18 December 2025, announced on Twitch’s developer forum. Discord’s help centre says profile badges are non-transferable. Several can no longer be obtained, among them the Early Supporter badge, which went to anyone who bought Nitro before 10 October 2018, and the HypeSquad house badges, from a quiz that is no longer available. Discord removed the Active Developer badge from every profile in December 2025.

Snapchat’s friend emoji

Snap says Friend Emojis are based on the way two friends use Snapchat, and can change regularly. A yellow heart means two people are each other’s #1 Best Friend; a red heart means that has lasted two weeks in a row, and pink hearts two months. A fire appears beside the number of days two friends have Snapped each other, and an hourglass means the Streak is going to end soon. The list has changed since Friend Emojis began in April 2015: TechCrunch’s list then included a smirk 😏, which Snap’s guide no longer has.

Instagram and TikTok side by side

Both apps like a post with a heart; Fortune noted in 2015, when Twitter changed its star to a heart, that Instagram had long used one. Instagram added the bookmark, which saves a post to a private tab on the profile, in December 2016, and the green ring that marks a Close Friends story in November 2018. Both apps show a blue check mark for a verified account. Instagram’s was reserved for public figures such as lawmakers, actors, musicians, athletes and journalists until February 2023, TechCrunch reported, when Meta Verified, a subscription, began to include it. TikTok says its badge means it has confirmed the account belongs to the user it represents, and that a check mark in a bio is not a verified badge. Each labels AI content in its own words: Meta renamed its “Made with AI” label “AI info” in July 2024, and TikTok began testing an “AI-generated” label in September 2023.

Sources

  1. Chat and Chatbots: IRC concepts and tag reference, Twitch Developers documentation (read September 2026), Twitch, GLOBALUSERSTATE and PRIVMSG tags: badge-info, badges, mod, subscriber, turbo
  2. Lead Moderator role and chat badge introduced, Twitch Developer Forums, Announcements (jbulava, Twitch Staff), 18 December 2025, Twitch, first post
  3. Profile Badges 101, Discord Help Center, updated 31 July 2026 (Internet Archive copy, 11 September 2026), Discord (Internet Archive copy), whole article
  4. Active Developer Badge, Discord Developers Help Center, Arwen, updated 5 December 2025 (Internet Archive copy, 31 July 2026), Discord (Internet Archive copy), whole article
  5. What do my Friend Emojis mean on Snapchat?, Snapchat Support (read September 2026), Snap Inc., Friend Emoji Guide
  6. Snapchat Replaces “Best Friends” With Friend Emojis, Adds Low-Light Camera, Josh Constine, 6 April 2015, TechCrunch, article
  7. Why Twitter’s ‘Favorite’ Star Button is Now a Heart-Shaped ‘Like’, Kia Kokalitcheva, 3 November 2015, Fortune, article
  8. Instagram now lets you bookmark posts for later viewing, Sarah Perez, 14 December 2016, TechCrunch, article
  9. Instagram now lets you share Stories to a Close Friends list, Josh Constine, 30 November 2018, TechCrunch, article
  10. Meta to sell blue badge on Instagram and Facebook, Manish Singh, 19 February 2023, TechCrunch, article
  11. How to tell if an account is verified on TikTok, TikTok Newsroom, TikTok, article
  12. Our Approach to Labeling AI-Generated Content and Manipulated Media, Monika Bickert, 5 April 2024, updated 10 May, 1 July and 12 September 2024, Meta Newsroom, updates of 1 July and 12 September 2024
  13. New labels for disclosing AI-generated content, TikTok Newsroom, 19 September 2023, TikTok, announcement

Last reviewed September 30, 2026 by Rory Hansen. How we research