About SocialGlyphs

Social apps change their icons all the time and almost never explain them. A grey arrow appears in a Snapchat chat, a green ring shows up on an Instagram story, a new badge lands on TikTok — and millions of people search "what does this mean?" the same day.

SocialGlyphs exists to answer that question quickly and correctly. Every guide starts with the short answer, then shows where the symbol appears, what triggers it and what you can do about it.

How we work

• Tested on real phones. We check symbols and features on current iOS and Android versions of each app before publishing.
• Sourced. When an app officially explains a feature, we link to it.
• Kept up to date. When an app changes a symbol, we update the guide and change the "Updated" date.

Read our editorial policy for the details.

Who writes SocialGlyphs

SocialGlyphs is written and edited by Affan Ahmed. Affan Ahmed is an SEO specialist with a BSc in Computer Science who has worked in search and social media marketing since 2022. He tests every symbol and feature on SocialGlyphs on his own phone before writing about it.

SocialGlyphs is independent and is not affiliated with Snap Inc., Meta, TikTok, X Corp. or any other company mentioned on the site.

Spotted a symbol we haven't covered, or something that changed? Tell us.