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Less than a week after The Wall St. Journal reported<\/a> on how a Snapchat feature dubbed \u201csolar system\u201d was adding to teens\u2019 anxiety, the company has responded<\/a> by adjusting how the feature works. The ranking system for paid subscribers today shows you how close you are to your Snapchat friends by displaying your position in their solar system. For example, a friend in the \u201cMercury\u201d position would be someone you communicate with a lot, while \u201cUranus\u201d would be someone not as close.<\/p>\n Of course, online chatting doesn\u2019t necessarily correlate to real-world relationships, and such a feature can lead to hurt feelings when someone realizes that they\u2019re not as close to a friend as they thought.<\/p>\n Snap says it has received feedback that it can feel good to know you\u2019re close to someone but it can also feel bad to know you aren\u2019t as close as you\u2019d like to be.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve heard and understand that the Solar System can make that feeling worse, and we want to avoid that,\u201d the company announced in a post on its newsroom on Friday.<\/p>\n However, instead of removing the feature, as it did with the dangerous and controversial speed filter,<\/a> which it was sued over for \u201cnegligent design,\u201d Snap is simply turning the Solar System feature off by default. Snapchat+ subscribers will still be able to turn the option on if they choose.<\/p>\n \u201cWe hope this strikes the right balance between providing a feature that is desired by many who use it while avoiding upsetting those who don\u2019t want to use it,\u201d the company explains.<\/p>\n Turning it off by default may provide some friction, but if the feature is already in demand among teens, then they\u2019ll simply dig around to find the setting to turn it back on.<\/p>\n Snap argues that Solar System is not that popular, noting that less than 0.25% of the community uses the option. But since it\u2019s only available to paid subscribers, the small percentage is not surprising. A more relevant stat would be how many Snapchat+ users have used Solar System or viewed the feature.<\/p>\n Although users can\u2019t see who\u2019s closer or further away from the friend as they are, finding out they\u2019re not number one has led to some tough conversations, The WSJ reported, even breakups.<\/p>\n Snap defends the feature by saying that people wanted to know more about their friendships and features like Solar System provide \u201cadditional awareness and context.\u201d But in reality, it\u2019s a way to keep young people \u2014 a demographic where social hierarchy is key \u2014 addicted to using Snapchat.<\/p>\n The Solar System feature was only one of Snapchat\u2019s friend ranking systems. It also offers a private feature called \u201cBest Friends\u201d that puts the people with whom you communicate most at the top of your contact list, along with a heart or smiley emoji, The WSJ pointed out.<\/p>\n Another much-debated feature called \u201cStreaks\u201d is a tool that Snapchat users to encourage repeated use of its app by offering a visual representation of how many consecutive days users have stayed in touch with one another on the app.\u00a0After much backlash from parents and families<\/a>, lawmakers, and regulators alike over the feature\u2019s addictive nature<\/a> and psychological harms, Snap last year introduced a way to pause your streaks<\/a>. It also added a way for users to restore a lost Streak.<\/p>\n While Snap promises in its blog post that it\u2019s \u201ccommitted to mitigating the potential downsides of online communication wherever possible,\u201d it has intentionally built features and tools that have at least left it open to lawsuits<\/a> and Congressional<\/a> inquiry<\/a>, if not worse<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n