View source for Emoji

{{Short description|Symbols for emotional cues in text}}
{{other uses}}
[[File:Popular Emoji Groups Noto Color Emoji.svg|thumb|Each of the most popular emoji from the 9 major emoji categories according to the Unicode Emoji Frequency study from 2021, rendered in the Noto Color Emoji font]]
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{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2025}}

{{Contains special characters|emoticon|compact=}}An '''emoji''' ({{IPAc-en|ᵻ|ˈ|m|oʊ|dʒ|i}} {{respell|im|OH|jee}}; plural '''emoji''' or '''emojis''';<ref>{{cite web |title=emoji – English meaning |url=http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/emoji |access-date=March 30, 2017 |website=Cambridge Dictionary}}</ref> {{langx|ja|[[wikt:絵文字|絵文字]]}}, {{IPA|ja|emoꜜʑi|pron}}) is a [[pictogram]], [[logogram]], [[ideogram]], or [[smiley]] embedded in text and used in electronic messages and [[web page]]s. The primary function of modern emoji is to fill in emotional cues otherwise missing from typed conversation as well as to replace words as part of a [[logographic system]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Evans |first=Vyvyan |date=August 12, 2017 |title=Emojis actually make our language better |url=https://nypost.com/2017/08/12/emojis-actually-make-our-language-way-better/ |website=[[New York Post]] |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230306073420/https://nypost.com/2017/08/12/emojis-actually-make-our-language-way-better/ |archive-date= Mar 6, 2023 }}</ref> Emoji exist in various genres, including facial expressions, expressions, activity, food and drinks, celebrations, flags, objects, symbols, places, types of weather, animals, and nature.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/feb/06/difference-between-emoji-and-emoticons-explained |title=Don't know the difference between emoji and emoticons? Let me explain |first=Alex |last=Hern |date=February 6, 2015 |work=[[The Guardian]] |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230608113509/https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/feb/06/difference-between-emoji-and-emoticons-explained |archive-date= Jun 8, 2023 }}</ref>

The first emoji sets were created by Japanese portable electronic device companies in the late 1980s and the 1990s.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |date=2024-05-13 |title=New Earliest Emoji Sets From 1988 & 1990 Uncovered |url=https://blog.emojipedia.org/new-earliest-emoji-sets-from-1988-and-1990-uncovered/ |access-date=2024-05-17 |website=Emojipedia |language=en}}</ref> The word ''emoji'' comes from Japanese {{nihongo||絵|e|'picture'}}&nbsp;+&nbsp;{{nihongo||文字|moji|'character'}} and originally meant '[[pictogram|pictograph]]';<ref>{{Cite book |last=Taggart |first=Caroline |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VPO4CgAAQBAJ&q=emoji |title=New Words for Old: Recycling Our Language for the Modern World |date=2015-11-05 |publisher=Michael O'Mara Books |isbn=978-1-78243-473-3 |language=en}}</ref> the resemblance to the English words ''emotion'' and ''emoticon'' is [[False cognate|purely coincidental]].<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VPO4CgAAQBAJ|title=New Words for Old: Recycling Our Language for the Modern World |first=Caroline |last=Taggart |date=November 5, 2015 |publisher=Michael O'Mara Books |isbn=978-1-78243-473-3 |via=Google Books |quote=Hard on the heels of the emoticon comes the Japanese-born ''emoji'', also a <u>DIGITAL</u> icon used to express emotion, but more sophisticated in terms of imagery than those that are created by pressing a colon followed by a parenthesis. ''Emoji'' is made up of the Japanese for ''picture'' (''e'') and ''character'' (''moji''), so its resemblance to emotion and emoticon is a particularly happy coincidence. |access-date=October 25, 2017}}</ref> Emoji became increasingly popular worldwide in the 2010s after [[Unicode]] began encoding emoji into the Unicode Standard.<ref name=":0">{{cite web |last=Blagdon |first=Jeff |title=How emoji conquered the world |url=https://www.theverge.com/2013/3/4/3966140/how-emoji-conquered-the-world |work=The Verge |publisher=Vox Media |access-date=November 6, 2013 |date=March 4, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|title=Smile, You're Speaking EMOJI: The fast evolution of a wordless tongue|date=November 16, 2014|url=https://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2014/11/emojis-rapid-evolution.html|first=Adam|last=Sternbergh|magazine=[[New York (magazine)|New York]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=4.4 KitKat |url=http://www.android.com/versions/kit-kat-4-4/ |work=Android}}</ref> They are now considered to be a large part of [[popular culture]] in [[Western World|the West]] and around the world.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/video/how-emojis-took-center-stage-in-american-pop-culture-1001844803597 |title=How Emojis took center stage in American pop culture |date=July 17, 2017 |work=NBC News}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Fisher |first=Jonathan |date=2015-04-22 |title=Here's how people in different countries use emoji |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/emoji-worldwide-popularity-and-use-by-country-2015-4 |url-access=registration |access-date=2021-04-15 |website=Business Insider Australia |language=en |archive-date=April 15, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210415133147/https://www.businessinsider.com.au/emoji-worldwide-popularity-and-use-by-country-2015-4 |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2015, [[OxfordDictionaries.com|Oxford Dictionaries]] named the emoji {{unichar|1F602|FACE WITH TEARS OF JOY|nlink=Face with Tears of Joy emoji}} its [[Word of the year#Oxford|word of the year]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Oh |first=Yena |date=November 17, 2015 |title=Oxford Dictionaries 2015 Word of the Year is an Emoji |url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/oxford-dictionary-says-the-2015-word-of-the-year-is-an-emoji |access-date=August 23, 2017 |publisher=PBS Newshour}}</ref><ref>Philiop Seargeant. The Emoji Revolution: How Technology is Shaping the Future of Communication. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2019.</ref>

==History==

===Evolution from emoticons (1990s)===
{{main|Emoticon}}

The emoji was predated by the [[emoticon]],<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/happy-30th-birthday-emoticon-8120158.html| title=Happy 30th Birthday Emoticon!| date=September 8, 2012| newspaper=Independent| access-date=November 30, 2017}}</ref> a concept implemented in 1982 by computer scientist [[Scott Fahlman]] when he suggested text-based symbols such as :-) and :-( could be used to replace language.<ref>{{Citation | title = -) turns 25| publisher = [[Associated Press]]| date = 2007-09-20| url = http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/09/18/emoticon.anniversary.ap/index.html| access-date = 2007-09-20 |archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20071012051803/http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/09/18/emoticon.anniversary.ap/index.html <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archive-date = 2007-10-12}}</ref> Theories about language replacement can be traced back to the 1960s, when Russian novelist and professor [[Vladimir Nabokov]] stated in an interview with ''[[The New York Times]]'': "I often think there should exist a special typographical sign for a smile — some sort of concave mark, a supine round bracket."<ref name=Nabokov1973>{{Citation| last = Nabokov| first = Vladimir| year = 1973| title = Strong Opinions| pages = 133–134| isbn = 0-679-72609-8| location = New York| url-access = registration| url = https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780679726098 |publisher=Vintage Books }}</ref> It did not become a mainstream concept until the 1990s, when Japanese, American, and European companies began developing Fahlman's idea.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.rd.com/culture/history-of-emoji/| title=Why Do We Use Emojis Anyway? A Fascinating History of Emoticons| date=December 9, 2016| magazine=Reader's Digest| access-date=November 30, 2017 |first=Claire |last=Nowak}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.ovrdrv.com/emoji-101/| title=Emoji 101| date=October 14, 2015| publisher=Overdrive Interactive| access-date=November 30, 2017 |author=Edwina De Abreu}}</ref> [[Mary Kalantzis]] and [[Bill Cope (academic)|Bill Cope]] point out that similar symbology was incorporated by Bruce Parello, a student at the [[University of Illinois]], into [[PLATO IV]], the first [[e-learning]] system, in 1972.<ref name="Kalantzis">{{cite book |last1=Kalantzis |first1=Mary |last2=Cope |first2=Bill |title=Adding Sense: Context and Interest in a Grammar of Multimodal Meaning |date=2020 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-108-49534-9 |page=33}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Cope |first1=Bill |last2=Kalantzis |first2=Mary |title=A Little History of e-Learning |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/351400910 |via=ResearchGate |access-date=26 October 2021}}</ref> The PLATO system was not considered mainstream, and therefore Parello's [[pictogram]]s were only used by a small number of people.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Smith |first1=Ernie |title=The Greatest Computer Network You've Never Heard Of |date=November 13, 2017 |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/the-greatest-computer-network-youve-never-heard-of/ |publisher=[[Vice (magazine)|Vice]]}}</ref> [[Scott Fahlman|Scott Fahlman's]] emoticons importantly used common alphabet symbols and aimed to replace language/text to express emotion, and for that reason are seen as the actual origin of emoticons.

The first emoji are a matter of contention due to differing definitions and poor early documentation.<ref name="emojipediafirst" /><ref name=":4" /> It was previously widely considered that DoCoMo had the first emoji set in 1999, but an [[Emojipedia]] blog article in 2019 brought [[SoftBank Group|SoftBank's]] earlier 1997 set to light.<ref name="emojipediafirst" /> More recently, in 2024, earlier emoji sets were uncovered on portable devices by [[Sharp Corporation]] and [[NEC]]<ref>{{Cite book |title=NEC 電子手帳 PI-ET1 取扱説明書 |publisher=NEC Corporation |year=1990 |page=131 |language=Japanese |trans-title=NEC Electronic Notebook PI-ET1 Instruction Manual |chapter=システム外字数 |trans-chapter=Non System Kanji}}</ref> in the early 1990s, with the 1988 Sharp PA-8500 harboring what can be defined as the earliest known emoji set that reflects emoji keyboards today.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Sharp 電子手帳 PA-8500 取扱説明書 |publisher=SHARP Corporation |year=1988 |page=201 |language=Japanese |trans-title=Sharp Electronic Notebook PA-8500 Operating Instructions |chapter=記号一覧表 |trans-chapter=Symbol List}}</ref><ref name=":4" />

[[File:Wingdings sample (cropped).png|thumb|Wingdings icons, including smiling and frowning faces]]
[[Wingdings]], a font invented by [[Charles Bigelow (type designer)|Charles Bigelow]] and [[Kris Holmes]], was released by [[Microsoft]] in 1990.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Edwards |first1=Phil |title=Why the Wingdings font exists |url=https://www.vox.com/2015/8/25/9200801/wingdings-font-history |publisher=[[Vox (website)|Vox]] |date=August 26, 2015}}</ref> It could be used to send pictographs in [[rich text]] messages, but would only load on devices with the Wingdings font installed.<ref name="emojipediafirst">{{cite web |title=Correcting the Record on the First Emoji Set |url=https://blog.emojipedia.org/correcting-the-record-on-the-first-emoji-set/ |publisher=[[Emojipedia]] |date=March 8, 2019}}</ref> In 1995, the French newspaper {{Lang|fr|[[Le Monde]]}} announced that [[Alcatel-Lucent|Alcatel]] would be launching a new phone, the BC&nbsp;600. Its welcome screen displayed a digital smiley face, replacing the usual text seen as part of the "welcome message" often seen on other devices at the time.<ref>{{cite news |title=Souriez! Le GSM présente un nouveau visage |publisher=[[Le Monde]] |date=November 7, 1995 |language=fr|page=13}}</ref> In 1997, SoftBank's [[J-Phone]] arm launched the SkyWalker DP-211SW, which contained a set of 90 emoji. Its designs, each measuring 12 by 12 pixels, were [[monochrome]], depicting numbers, sports, the time, [[moon phases]], and the weather. It contained the [[Pile of Poo emoji]] in particular.<ref name="emojipediafirst" /> The J-Phone model experienced low sales, and the emoji set was thus rarely used.<ref>{{Cite journal | last=Alt | first=Matt | title=Why Japan Got Over Emojis | journal=Slate | url=https://slate.com/technology/2015/12/emojis-are-no-longer-cool-in-japan.html | date=December 7, 2015 | access-date=January 22, 2019 }}</ref>

In 1999, [[Shigetaka Kurita]] created 176 emoji as part of [[NTT DoCoMo]]'s [[i-mode]], used on its mobile platform.<ref name=Steinmetz2015>{{cite magazine|last=Steinmetz|first=Katy|url=https://time.com/4114886/oxford-word-of-the-year-2015-emoji/|title=Oxford's 2015 Word of the Year Is This Emoji|magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|date=November 16, 2015|access-date=July 28, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2014/11/emojis-rapid-evolution.html|title=Smile, You're Speaking Emoji|author=Sternbergh, Adam|date=November 16, 2014}}</ref><ref name="Meet Shigetaka Kurita, the Father of Emoji">{{cite web|last1=Negishi|first1=Mayumi|title=Meet Shigetaka Kurita, the Father of Emoji|url=https://blogs.wsj.com/japanrealtime/2014/03/26/meet-shigetaka-kurita-the-father-of-emoji|work=[[The Wall Street Journal]]|date=March 26, 2014|access-date=August 16, 2015}}</ref> They were intended to help facilitate electronic communication and to serve as a distinguishing feature from other services.<ref name=":0"/> Due to their influence, Kurita's designs were once claimed to be the first cellular emoji;<ref name="emojipediafirst" /> however, Kurita has denied that this is the case.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://emojitimeline.com/ |title=Emoji Timeline |first=Daniel |last=Hånberg Alonso}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=日本のモバイル端末における絵文字はポケベルが最初ですが、ケータイに関しては私が開発したドコモの絵文字が最初ではなく、J-PHONEのパイオニアDP-211SWが最初だったと思います. |first=Shigetaka |last=Kurita |author-link=Shigetaka Kurita |website=[[Twitter]] |date=2019-01-03 |url=https://twitter.com/sigekun/status/1080848236653334529}}</ref> According to interviews, he took inspiration from Japanese [[manga]] where characters are often drawn with symbolic representations called ''manpu'' (such as a water drop on a face representing nervousness or confusion), and weather pictograms used to depict the weather conditions at any given time. He also drew inspiration from [[Chinese characters]] and street sign pictograms.<ref name="Meet Shigetaka Kurita, the Father of Emoji"/><ref>{{cite web|title=NTT DoCoMo Emoji List|url=https://www.nttdocomo.co.jp/service/imode_mail/function/pictograph|publisher=nttdocomo.co.jp}}</ref><ref name="Why and how I created emoji">{{cite web|first=Mamiko |last=Nakano |translator1=Mitsuyo Inaba Lee |title=Why and how I created emoji: Interview with Shigetaka Kurita |url=http://ignition.co/105 |website=Ignition |access-date=August 16, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160610220635/http://ignition.co/105 |archive-date=June 10, 2016 }}</ref> The DoCoMo i-Mode set included facial expressions, such as smiley faces, derived from a Japanese visual style commonly found in manga and [[anime]], combined with ''[[kaomoji]]'' and smiley elements.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Moschini |first1=Ilaria |title=The "Face with Tears of Joy" Emoji: A Socio-Semiotic and Multimodal Insight into a Japan-America Mash-Up |journal=HERMES: Journal of Language and Communication in Business |date=29 August 2016 |issue=55 |pages=11–25 |doi=10.7146/hjlcb.v0i55.24286 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/307442698 |doi-access=free |access-date=14 November 2020 |archive-date=23 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210123200221/https://www.researchgate.net/publication/307442698_The_Face_with_Tears_of_Joy_Emoji_A_Socio-Semiotic_and_Multimodal_Insight_into_a_Japan-America_Mash-Up |url-status=live }}</ref> Kurita's work is displayed in the [[Museum of Modern Art]] in [[New York City]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Ness |first1=Amanda |title=Look Who's Smiley Now: MoMA Acquires Original Emoji |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/27/arts/design/look-whos-smiley-now-moma-acquires-original-emoji.html |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=October 26, 2016}}</ref>

Kurita's emoji were brightly colored, albeit with a single color per [[glyph]]. General-use emoji, such as sports, actions, and weather, can readily be traced back to Kurita's emoji set.<ref name=guardiankurita>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/oct/27/emoji-inventor-shigetaka-kurita-moma-new-york-text|title=The inventor of emoji on his famous creations – and his all-time favorite|last=McCurry|first=Justin|date=2016-10-27|website=[[The Guardian]] |language=en |access-date=2018-06-17}}</ref> Notably absent from the set were pictograms that demonstrated emotion. The yellow-faced emoji in current use evolved from other emoticon sets and cannot be traced back to Kurita's work.<ref name=guardiankurita /> His set also had generic images much like the [[J-Phone]]s. Elsewhere in the 1990s, [[Nokia]] phones began including preset pictograms in its text messaging app, which they defined as "smileys and symbols".<ref name=nokia3310>{{cite web |title=Nokia 3310 User Guide |url=https://www.nokia.com/phones/en_gb/support/api/pdf/nokia-3310-user-guide |publisher=[[Nokia]]}}</ref> A third notable emoji set was introduced by Japanese mobile phone brand [[au by KDDI]].<ref name="emojipediafirst" /><ref name="Schwartzberg">{{cite web|url=https://www.fastcompany.com/3037803/the-oral-history-of-the-poop-emoji-or-how-google-brought-poop-to-america|title=The Oral History Of The Poop Emoji (Or, How Google Brought Poop To America)|website=Fast Company|last=Schwartzberg|first=Lauren|date=18 November 2014|language=en|access-date=29 March 2017}}</ref>

===Development of emoji sets (2000–2007)===
The basic 12-by-12-pixel emoji in Japan grew in popularity across various platforms over the next decade. While emoji adoption was high in Japan during this time, the competitors failed to collaborate to create a uniform set of emoji to be used across all platforms in the country.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Blagdon |first1=Jeff |title=How emoji conquered the world |url=https://www.theverge.com/2013/3/4/3966140/how-emoji-conquered-the-world |publisher=[[The Verge]] |date=March 4, 2013}}</ref>

[[File:Codepage-437 (cropped).png|thumb|Smiley faces from DOS code page 437]]
The [[Universal Coded Character Set]] ([[Unicode]]), controlled by the [[Unicode Consortium]] and [[ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 2]], had already been established as the international standard for text representation ([[ISO/IEC 10646]]) since 1993, although variants of [[Shift JIS]] remained relatively common in Japan. Unicode included several characters which would subsequently be classified as emoji, including some from North American or Western European sources such as [[Code page 437|DOS code page 437]], [[ITC Zapf Dingbats]], or the [[WordPerfect]] Iconic Symbols set.<ref>{{cite web |title=Unicode 1.1 Emoji List |url=https://emojipedia.org/unicode-1.1/ |publisher=[[Emojipedia]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://corp.unicode.org/pipermail/unicode/2021-February/009307.html |last=Whistler |first=Ken |date=2021-02-01 |title=Re: Origins of ⌚ U+231A WATCH and ⌛ U+231B HOURGLASS |work=Unicode Mail List Archives}}</ref> Unicode coverage of written characters was extended several times by new editions during the 2000s, with little interest in incorporating the Japanese cellular emoji sets (deemed out of scope),<ref name="principles">{{cite web |url=https://unicode.org/emoji/principles.html |title=Emoji Encoding Principles |publisher=[[Unicode Consortium]]}}</ref> although symbol characters which would subsequently be classified as emoji continued to be added. For example, Unicode 4.0 contained 16 new emoji, which included direction arrows, a warning triangle, and an eject button.<ref>{{cite web |title=Unicode 4.0 List |url=https://emojipedia.org/unicode-4.0/ |publisher=[[Emojipedia]]}}</ref> Besides Zapf Dingbats, other [[dingbat]] fonts such as Wingdings or Webdings also included additional pictographic symbols in their own custom pi font encodings; unlike Zapf Dingbats, however, many of these would not be available as Unicode emoji until 2014.<ref name="hexuswebdings" />

Nicolas Loufrani applied to the [[United States Copyright Office|US Copyright Office]] in 1999 to register the 471 smileys that he created.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Untold Story Behind the Emoji Phenomenon |date=March 10, 2022 |url=https://www.hooksmagazine.com/post/silver-screen-the-untold-story-behind-the-emoji-phenomenon |work=Hooks magazine}}</ref> Soon after he created The Smiley Dictionary, which not only hosted the largest number of smileys at the time, it also categorized them.<ref>{{cite web |title=Historical capture of SmileyDictionary.com from 2001 |url=https://www.smileydictionary.com |publisher=[[Wayback Machine]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010331043601/http://www.smileydictionary.com/|archive-date=March 31, 2001}}</ref> The desktop platform was aimed at allowing people to insert smileys as text when sending emails and writing on a [[desktop computer]].<ref name=eveningstandard>{{cite web |last1=Speare-Cole |first1=Rebecca |title=Man behind iconic smiley face symbol says limited number of emojis restricts freedom of speech |date=November 10, 2019 |url=https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/man-behind-iconic-smiley-face-symbol-says-limited-number-of-emojis-restricts-freedom-of-speech-a4282786.html |publisher=[[Evening Standard]]}}</ref> By 2003, it had grown to 887 smileys and 640 ascii emotions.<ref>{{cite web |title=From smiley to emoji, 20 years of history |date=August 6, 2017 |url=https://fleetpeople.es/de-smiley-a-emoji-20-anos-de-historia/ |publisher=Fleet People}}</ref>

The smiley toolbar offered a variety of symbols and smileys and was used on platforms such as [[MSN Messenger]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Golby |first1=Joel |title=The Man Who Owns the Smiley Face |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/the-man-who-owns-the-smiley-face/ |publisher=[[Vice (magazine)|Vice]] |date=August 9, 2017}}</ref> [[Nokia]], then one of the largest global telecom companies, was still referring to today's emoji sets as [[smiley]]s in 2001.<ref>{{cite web |title=Nokia 3310 User guide |url=https://ringtones.specialtyansweringservice.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/manuals/nokia-3310-userguide.pdf |publisher=Nokia}}</ref> The digital smiley movement was headed up by Nicolas Loufrani, the CEO of [[The Smiley Company]].<ref name=eveningstandard /> He created a smiley toolbar, which was available at smileydictionary.com during the early 2000s to be sent as emoji.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Hutchins |first1=Robert |title=SmileyWorld's CEO Nicolas Loufrani on plagiarism, the school market and a push for more toys |url=https://www.licensing.biz/smileyworlds-ceo-nicolas-loufrani-on-plagiarism-the-school-market-and-a-push-for-more-toys/ |publisher=[[Licensing.biz]] |date=March 7, 2016 |access-date=January 30, 2020 |archive-date=January 30, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200130123305/https://www.licensing.biz/smileyworlds-ceo-nicolas-loufrani-on-plagiarism-the-school-market-and-a-push-for-more-toys/ }}</ref> Over the next two years, The Smiley Dictionary became the plug-in of choice for forums and [[Instant messaging|online instant messaging]] platforms. There were competitors, but The Smiley Dictionary was the most popular. Platforms such as [[MSN Messenger]] allowed for customisation from 2001 onwards, with many users importing emoticons to use in messages as text. These emoticons would eventually go on to become the modern-day emoji. It was not until [[MSN Messenger]] and [[BlackBerry]] noticed the popularity of these unofficial sets and launched their own from late 2003 onwards.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Li |first1=Shirley |title=The Life And Times of MSN Messenger, As Told Through MSN Emoticons |date=August 29, 2014 |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2014/08/the-life-and-times-of-msn-messenger-as-told-through-msn-emoticons/379371/ |work=[[The Atlantic]]}}</ref>

===Beginnings of Unicode emoji (2007–2014)===
[[File:Texting Emoji.jpg|thumb|Emoji being added to a [[text message]], 2013]] [[File:I Love New York.svg|thumb|An early use of the heart symbol as part of an English language sentence in the [[I Love New York]] advertising campaign of 1977]]
The first American company to take notice of emoji was [[Google]] beginning in 2007. In August 2007, a team made up of [[Mark Davis (Unicode)|Mark Davis]] and his colleagues Kat Momoi and Markus Scherer began petitioning the [[Unicode|Unicode Technical Committee (UTC)]] in an attempt to standardise the emoji.<ref name=wiredunicode>{{cite magazine |last1=Pardes |first1=Arielle |title=The Wired Guide to Emoji |url=https://www.wired.com/story/guide-emoji/ |magazine=[[Wired (magazine)|Wired]] |date=February 1, 2018}}</ref> The UTC, having previously deemed emoji to be out of scope for Unicode, made the decision to broaden its scope to enable compatibility with the Japanese cellular carrier formats which were becoming more widespread.<ref name="principles"/> Peter Edberg and Yasuo Kida joined the collaborative effort from [[Apple Inc.]] shortly after, and their official UTC proposal came in January 2009 with 625 new emoji characters. Unicode accepted the proposal in 2010.<ref name=wiredunicode />

Pending the assignment of standard Unicode [[code point]]s, Google and Apple implemented emoji support via [[Private Use Area]] schemes. Google first introduced emoji in [[Gmail]] in October 2008, in collaboration with [[au by KDDI]],<ref name="Schwartzberg"/> and Apple introduced the first release of [[Apple Color Emoji]] to [[iPhone OS]] on 21 November 2008.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://blog.emojipedia.org/apple-emoji-turns-10/|title=Apple Emoji Turns 10|last=Burge|first=Jeremy|date=21 November 2018|website=Emojipedia|language=en|access-date=31 December 2018}}</ref> Initially, Apple's emoji support was implemented for holders of a SoftBank SIM card; the emoji themselves were represented using SoftBank's Private Use Area scheme and mostly resembled the SoftBank designs.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://emojipedia.org/apple/iphone-os-2.2/ |title=Apple iPhone OS 2.2 |work=Emojipedia |author=Emojipedia}}</ref> Gmail emoji used their own Private Use Area scheme in a [[Plane (Unicode)#Private Use Area planes|supplementary Private Use plane]].<ref name="utcL210132"/><ref>{{cite web |url=https://umihotaru.work/nishiki-teki_pua.pdf |title=Nishiki-teki Version 3.90r (2021-09-25)—6,463 characters in the Private Use Areas}}</ref>

Separately, a proposal had been submitted in 2008 to add the [[ARIB STD B24 character set|ARIB extended characters]] used in broadcasting in Japan to Unicode. This included several pictographic symbols.<ref>{{citation|mode=cs1 |url=https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2008/08077r2-japanese-tv.pdf |title=Japanese TV Symbols |id=UTC L2/08-077R2 / ISO/IEC JTC1/SC2/WG2 N3397 |last=Suignard |first=Michel |date=2008-03-11}}</ref> These were added in Unicode 5.2 in 2009, a year before the cellular emoji sets were fully added; they include several characters which either also appeared amongst the cellular emoji<ref name="utcL210132">{{cite web |url=https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2010/10132-emojidata.pdf |id=UTC L2/10-132 |title=Emoji Symbols: Background Data—Background data for Proposal for Encoding Emoji Symbols |first1=Markus |last1=Scherer |first2=Mark |last2=Davis |first3=Kat |last3=Momoi |first4=Darick |last4=Tong |first5=Yasuo |last5=Kida |first6=Peter |last6=Edberg}}</ref> or were subsequently classified as emoji.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://emojipedia.org/unicode-5.2/ |title=Unicode 5.2 Emoji List |work=Emojipedia |author=Emojipedia |author-link=Emojipedia}}</ref>

After iPhone users in the United States discovered that downloading Japanese [[Mobile app|apps]] allowed access to the keyboard, pressure grew to expand the availability of the emoji keyboard beyond Japan.<ref name=Cocozza2015>{{cite web|last=Cocozza|first=Paula|url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/nov/17/crying-with-laughter-how-we-learned-how-to-speak-emoji|title=Crying with laughter: how we learned how to speak emoji|work=[[The Guardian]]|date=November 17, 2015|access-date=July 28, 2017|archive-date=May 6, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190506022028/https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/nov/17/crying-with-laughter-how-we-learned-how-to-speak-emoji|url-status=live}}</ref> The Emoji application for iOS, which altered the Settings app to allow access to the emoji keyboard, was created by [[Josh Gare]] in February 2010.<ref>{{Cite web|title=App Shopper: Emoji|url=http://appshopper.com/social-networking/emoji|website=App Shopper|access-date=2017-03-01|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170315174405/http://appshopper.com/social-networking/emoji|archive-date=2017-03-15}}</ref> Before the existence of Gare's Emoji app, [[Apple Inc.|Apple]] had intended for the emoji keyboard to only be available in [[Japan]] in [[iOS]] version 2.2.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Apple releases iPhone Software v2.2|url=http://appleinsider.com/article/?id=10447|website=AppleInsider|access-date=2017-02-28}}</ref>

Throughout 2009, members of the [[Unicode Consortium]] and national standardization bodies of various countries gave feedback and proposed changes to the international standardization of the emoji. The feedback from various bodies in the United States, Europe, and Japan agreed on a set of 722 emoji as the standard set. This would be released in October 2010 in Unicode 6.0.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.unicode.org/faq/emoji_dingbats.html|title=FAQ – Emoji & Dingbats|work=unicode.org}}</ref> Apple made the emoji keyboard available to those outside of Japan in iOS version 5.0 in 2011.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Standard Emoji keyboard arrives to iOS 5, here's how to enable it|url=https://9to5mac.com/2011/06/08/standard-emoji-keyboard-arrives-to-ios-5-heres-how-to-enable-it/|website=9to5Mac|date=June 8, 2011|access-date=2017-02-28}}</ref> Later, Unicode 7.0 (June 2014) added the [[character repertoire]]s of the [[Webdings]] and [[Wingdings]] fonts to Unicode, resulting in approximately 250 more Unicode emoji.<ref name="hexuswebdings">{{cite web| url=http://hexus.net/tech/news/software/71157-host-new-characters-emoji-introduced-unicode-70/| title=Host of New Characters and Emoji Introduced in Unicode 7.0| date=June 17, 2014| publisher=Hexus| access-date=November 30, 2017}}</ref>

The Unicode emoji whose [[code point]]s were assigned in 2014 or earlier are therefore taken from several sources. A single character could exist in multiple sources, and characters from a source were unified with existing characters where appropriate: for example, the "shower" weather symbol (☔️) from the ARIB source was unified with an existing umbrella with raindrops character,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2007/07391-n3341.pdf |title=Japanese TV Symbols |first=Michel |last=Suignard |date=2007-09-18 |id=UTC L2/07-391, [[ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 2]]/WG 2 N3341}}</ref> which had been added for [[KPS 9566]] compatibility.<ref name="utc-L2-02-102">{{cite web |url=https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2002/02102-n2417-dprk.pdf |first=Asmus |last=Freytag |date=2002-02-13 |id=[[ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 2]]/WG 2 N2417, UTC L2/02-102 |title=Notes on proposed Symbols from DPRK}}</ref> The emoji characters named {{Nihongo|"Rain"|"雨"|ame}} from all three Japanese carriers were in turn unified with the ARIB character.<ref name="utcL210132"/> However, the Unicode Consortium groups the most significant sources of emoji into four categories:<ref name="UTR51"/>

{|class="wikitable"
|-
!Source category!!Abbreviations!!Unicode version (year)!!Included sources!!Example
|-
|Zapf Dingbats||ZDings, z||1.0 (1991)||[[ITC Zapf Dingbats|ITC Zapf Dingbats Series 100]]||❣️ (U+2763 ← 0xA3)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://unicode.org/Public/MAPPINGS/VENDORS/APPLE/DINGBATS.TXT|title=Map (external version) from Mac OS Dingbats character set to Unicode 3.2 and later.|year=2005|author=Apple, Inc|author-link=Apple, Inc|publisher=[[Unicode Consortium]]}}</ref>
|-
|ARIB||ARIB, a||5.2 (2008)||[[ARIB STD B24 character set|ARIB STD-B24 Volume 1]] extended [[Shift JIS]]||⛩️ (U+26E9 ← 0xEE4B)<ref name="aribsjis">{{cite web |url=https://github.com/google/emoji4unicode/blob/master/data/arib/arib.ucm |title=ARIB Broadcast Symbols Unicode conversion mapping table using ICU's .ucm file format and representing ARIB codes in the Shift-JIS encoding scheme. |first=Markus |last=Scherer |publisher=[[Google LLC|Google]] |date=2008}}</ref>
|-
|rowspan=3|Japanese carriers||rowspan=3|JCarrier, j||rowspan=3|6.0 (2010)||[[NTT DoCoMo]] mobile Shift JIS||🎠 (U+1F3A0 ← 0xF8DA)<ref name="EmojiSources"/>
|-
|[[au by KDDI]] mobile Shift JIS||📌 (U+1F4CC ← 0xF78A)<ref name="EmojiSources"/>
|-
|[[SoftBank Mobile|SoftBank 3G]] mobile Shift JIS||💒 (U+1F492 ← 0xFB7D)<ref name="EmojiSources"/>
|-
|rowspan=4|Wingdings and Webdings||rowspan=4|WDings, w||rowspan=4|7.0 (2014)||[[Webdings]]||🛳️ (U+1F6F3 ← 0x54)<ref name="WDingsSources">{{cite web |url=https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2012/12368-n4384.pdf |title=Status of encoding of Wingdings and Webdings Symbols |id=[[ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 2]]/WG 2 N4384, [[Unicode Technical Committee|UTC]] [[INCITS|L2]]/12-368 |date=2012-11-06 |first=Michel |last=Suignard}} (For display consistent with the other source encodings, the prefix digits denoting the specific WDings font have been removed, and the numbers have been converted to hexadecimal.)</ref>
|-
|[[Wingdings]]||🏵️ (U+1F3F5 ← 0x7B)<ref name="WDingsSources"/>
|-
|[[Wingdings 2]]||🖍️ (U+1F58D ← 0x24)<ref name="WDingsSources"/>
|-
|[[Wingdings 3]]||▶️ (U+25B6 ← 0x75)<ref name="WDingsSources"/>{{efn|Also has ARIB (ARIB SJIS 0xEECE)<ref name="aribsjis"/> and JCarrier (SoftBank SJIS 0xF7DA, au SJIS 0xF74A)<ref name="EmojiSources"/> sources.}}<!-- Only two Wingdings-3-sourced characters officially have emoji presentation (▶️ and ◀️), both of which also have JCarrier and ARIB sources. Hence a solely Wingdings 3 sourced character cannot be listed here, unlike with the other sources. -->
|}

===UTS #51 and modern emoji (2015–present) <span class="anchor" id="1.0"></span><span class="anchor" id="2.0"></span><span class="anchor" id="3.0"></span><span class="anchor" id="4.0"></span><span class="anchor" id="5.0"></span><span class="anchor" id="11.0"></span><span class="anchor" id="12.0"></span><span class="anchor" id="12.1"></span><span class="anchor" id="13.0"></span><span class="anchor" id="13.1"></span><span class="anchor" id="14.0"></span><span class="anchor" id="15.0"></span><span class="anchor" id="16.0"></span>===
{{Multiple images
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| footer    = Color emoji from [[Google]]'s [[Noto Emoji Project]], started in 2012 and used by [[Gmail]], [[Google Hangouts]], [[ChromeOS]] and [[Android (operating system)|Android]]
}}

In late 2014, a Public Review Issue was created by the [[Unicode Technical Committee]], seeking feedback on a proposed Unicode Technical Report (UTR) titled "[[Unicode Emoji]]". This was intended to improve interoperability of emoji between vendors, and define a means of supporting multiple skin tones. The feedback period closed in January 2015.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.unicode.org/review/pri286/ |title=Proposed Draft UTR #51, Unicode Emoji |work=Public Review Issues |id=PRI 286 |institution=[[Unicode Consortium]]}}</ref> Also in January 2015, the use of the [[zero-width joiner]] to indicate that a sequence of emoji could be shown as a single equivalent glyph (analogous to a [[ligature (writing)|ligature]]) as a means of implementing emoji without atomic code points, such as varied compositions of families, was discussed within the "emoji ad-hoc committee".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2015/15029r-zwj-emoji.pdf |title=ZWJ in emoji sequences as hint for single glyph |id=[[Unicode Technical Committee|UTC]] L2/15-029R |date=2015-01-29 |first1=Peter |last1=Edberg |author2=Emoji Ad-hoc Committee}}</ref>

Unicode 8.0 (June 2015) added another 41 emoji, including articles of sports equipment such as the cricket bat, food items such as the [[taco]], new facial expressions, and symbols for places of worship, as well as five characters (crab, scorpion, lion face, bow and arrow, amphora) to improve support for pictorial rather than symbolic representations of the signs of the [[Zodiac]].{{efn|Older [[au by KDDI]] devices had used pictorial representations of all zodiac signs, displaying for instance the [[pisces (astrology)|pisces]] sign (♓️) as a fish (🐟). Later devices had changed these to symbols, for consistency with other vendors.{{refn|{{cite web |url=https://www.au.com/content/dam/au-com/static/designs/extlib/pdf/mobile/service/featurephone/communication/emoji/taiohyo_03.pdf |title=【絵文字対応表】 生き物・星座 |language=ja |publisher=[[au by KDDI]]}}}}}}<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.unicode.org/reports/tr51/tr51-3-archive.html#Emoji_Candidates |title=Annex D: Standard Additions for Unicode 8.0 |work=Unicode Technical Report #51: Unicode Emoji |version=1.0 |date=2015-06-09 |first1=Mark |last1=Davis |author-link1=Mark Davis (Unicode) |first2=Peter |last2=Edberg |institution=[[Unicode Consortium]]}}</ref>

Also in June 2015, the first approved version ("Emoji 1.0") of the Unicode Emoji report was published as Unicode Technical Report #51 (UTR #51). This introduced the mechanism of skin tone indicators, the first official recommendations about which Unicode characters were to be considered emoji, and the first official recommendations about which characters were to be displayed in an emoji font in  the absence of a [[variation selector]], and listed the zero-width joiner sequences for families and couples that were implemented by existing vendors.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.unicode.org/reports/tr51/tr51-3-archive.html |title=Unicode Technical Report #51: Unicode Emoji |version=1.0 |date=2015-06-09 |first1=Mark |last1=Davis |author-link1=Mark Davis (Unicode) |first2=Peter |last2=Edberg |institution=[[Unicode Consortium]]}}</ref> Maintenance of UTR #51, taking emoji requests, and creating proposals for emoji characters and emoji mechanisms was made the responsibility of the Unicode Emoji Subcommittee (ESC), operating as a subcommittee of the Unicode Technical Committee.<ref>{{cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150625033424/http://unicode.org/emoji/index.html#Unicode_Emoji_Subcommittee |archive-date=2015-06-25 |url=http://unicode.org/emoji/index.html#Unicode_Emoji_Subcommittee |title=Unicode Emoji Subcommittee |publisher=[[Unicode Consortium]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://unicode.org/emoji/techindex.html#Unicode_Emoji_Subcommittee |title=Unicode Emoji Subcommittee |publisher=[[Unicode Consortium]]}}</ref>

[[File:Emoji_Minesweeper.png|thumb|An online version of [[Minesweeper (video game)|Minesweeper]] using emoji]]

With the release of version 5.0 in May 2017 alongside Unicode 10.0, UTR #51 was redesignated a Unicode Technical Standard (UTS #51), making it an independent specification.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.unicode.org/reports/tr51/tr51-12.html |title=Unicode Technical Standard #51: Unicode Emoji |version=5.0 |date=2017-05-18 |first1=Mark |last1=Davis |author-link1=Mark Davis (Unicode) |first2=Peter |last2=Edberg |institution=[[Unicode Consortium]]}}</ref> {{as of|2017|July|post=,}} there were 2,666 Unicode emoji listed.<ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-40612529| title=Emojis Honoured in World Celebration| date=July 17, 2017| publisher=BBC| access-date=November 30, 2017}}</ref> The next version of UTS #51 (published in May 2018) skipped to the version number Emoji 11.0 so as to synchronise its major version number with the corresponding version of the Unicode Standard.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.unicode.org/reports/tr51/tr51-14.html#Versioning |title=1.5.2 Versioning |work=Unicode Technical Standard #51: Unicode Emoji |version=11.0 |date=2018-05-21 |first1=Mark |last1=Davis |author-link1=Mark Davis (Unicode) |first2=Peter |last2=Edberg |institution=[[Unicode Consortium]]}}</ref>
The popularity of emoji has caused pressure from vendors and international markets to add additional designs into the Unicode standard to meet the demands of different cultures. Some characters now defined as emoji are inherited from a variety of pre-Unicode messenger systems not only used in Japan, including [[Yahoo Messenger|Yahoo]] and [[MSN Messenger]].<ref name="Emoji Additions: Animals, Compatibility, and More Popular Requests; Emoji tranche 5">{{cite web|title=Emoji Additions: Animals, Compatibility, and More Popular Requests; Emoji tranche 5|url=https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2015/15054r4-emoji-tranche5.pdf|publisher=Unicode|access-date=August 18, 2015}}</ref> Corporate demand for emoji standardization has placed pressures on the Unicode Consortium, with some members complaining that it had overtaken the group's traditional focus on standardizing characters used for minority languages and transcribing historical records.<ref name="Inside 'Emojigeddon'">{{cite web|last1=Warzel|first1=Charlie|title=Inside 'Emojigeddon': The Fight Over The Future of the Unicode Consortium|url=https://www.buzzfeed.com/charliewarzel/inside-emojigeddon-the-fight-over-the-future-of-the-unicode|website=Buzzfeed|date=April 26, 2016 |access-date=September 15, 2017}}</ref> Conversely, the Consortium thought that public desire for emoji support has put pressure on vendors to improve their Unicode support,<ref name="detract" /> which is especially true for characters outside the [[Basic Multilingual Plane]],<ref name="backendless" /> thus leading to better support for Unicode's historic and minority scripts in deployed software.<ref name="detract" />

In 2022, the Unicode Consortium decided to stop accepting proposals for flag emoji, citing low use of the category and that adding new flags "creates exclusivity at the expense of others".<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=Daniel |first=Jennifer |date=March 28, 2022 |title=The Past and Future of Flag Emoji |url=https://blog.unicode.org/2022/03/the-past-and-future-of-flag-emoji.html |access-date=March 13, 2024 |website=blog.unicode.org}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite web |last=Tomaschek |first=Attila |date=March 29, 2022 |title=New Flag Emoji Proposals No Longer Accepted, Unicode Says |url=https://www.cnet.com/culture/internet/new-flag-emoji-proposals-no-longer-accepted-unicode-says/ |access-date=March 13, 2024 |website=CNET}}</ref> The Consortium stated that new flag emoji would still be added when their country becomes part of the [[ISO 3166-1]] standard, with no proposal needed.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" />

===Cultural influence===
{{Multiple images
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| footer            = Color illustrations of {{unichar|1F602|FACE WITH TEARS OF JOY|nlink=Face with Tears of Joy emoji}} from [[Twemoji]], [[Noto Emoji Project]] and [[Firefox OS]]
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[[Oxford Dictionaries (website)|Oxford Dictionaries]] named {{unichar|1F602|FACE WITH TEARS OF JOY|nlink=}}<ref>{{cite web|url=http://emojipedia.org/face-with-tears-of-joy/|title=Face With Tears of Joy Emoji|publisher=Emojipedia.org}}</ref> its 2015 [[Word of the year#Oxford|Word of the Year]].<ref name="Oxford2015">{{cite web|url=http://blog.oxforddictionaries.com/2015/11/word-of-the-year-2015-emoji|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151117015932/http://blog.oxforddictionaries.com/2015/11/word-of-the-year-2015-emoji|archive-date=November 17, 2015|title=Oxford names 'emoji' 2015 Word of the Year|work=[[Oxford Dictionaries (website)|Oxford Dictionaries]]|date=November 16, 2015|access-date=January 20, 2016}}</ref> Oxford noted that 2015 had seen a sizable increase in the use of the word "emoji" and recognized its impact on popular culture.<ref name="Oxford2015" /> Oxford Dictionaries President Caspar Grathwohl expressed that "traditional alphabet scripts have been struggling to meet the rapid-fire, visually focused demands of 21st Century communication. It's not surprising that a pictographic script like emoji has stepped in to fill those gaps — it's flexible, immediate, and infuses tone beautifully."<ref name="Waldman2015">{{cite web|last=Waldman|first=Katy|url=http://www.slate.com/blogs/lexicon_valley/2015/11/16/the_face_with_tears_of_joy_emoji_is_the_word_of_the_year_says_oxford_dictionaries.html|title=This Year's Word of the Year Isn't Even a Word 😂😂😂|department=Lexicon Valley|work=[[Slate (magazine)|Slate]]|date=November 16, 2015|access-date=July 29, 2017}}</ref> [[SwiftKey]] found that "Face with Tears of Joy" was the most popular emoji across the world.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/11/17/for-first-time-ever-an-emoji-is-crowned-oxford-dictionaries-word-of-the-year|title=For first time ever, an emoji is crowned Oxford Dictionaries' Word of the Year|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|last=Wang|first=Yanan|date=November 17, 2015|access-date=January 20, 2016}}</ref> The [[American Dialect Society]] declared {{unichar|1F346|AUBERGINE}} to be the "Most Notable Emoji" of 2015 in their Word of the Year vote.<ref name="AmericanDialect">{{cite web |url=http://www.americandialect.org/2015-word-of-the-year-is-singular-they |title=2015 Word of the Year is singular 'they' |publisher=American Dialect Society |website=www.americandialect.org |date=January 8, 2016 |access-date=October 19, 2017}}</ref> A 2015 report found {{unichar|1F4A9|PILE OF POO|nlink=}} was most popular in Canada among users of a proprietary keyboard application.<ref>{{cite web |author=O'Neil |first=Lauren |date=April 22, 2015 |title=Canadians top the world in smiling poop emoji use, report finds |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/trending/canadians-top-the-world-in-smiling-poop-emoji-use-report-finds-1.3043143 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241006110647/https://www.cbc.ca/news/trending/canadians-top-the-world-in-smiling-poop-emoji-use-report-finds-1.3043143 |archive-date=6 October 2024 |access-date=January 31, 2025 |website=[[CBC News]] |language=en}}</ref>

Some emoji are specific to Japanese culture, such as a [[Dogeza|bowing]] businessman ({{unichar|1F647}}), the [[shoshinsha mark]] used to indicate a beginner driver ({{unichar|1F530}}), a white flower ({{unichar|1F4AE}}) used to denote "brilliant homework",<ref>{{cite web|url=http://emojipedia.org/white-flower|title=White Flower Emoji|publisher=Emojipedia.org|access-date=July 22, 2015}}</ref> or a group of emoji representing popular foods: [[ramen]] noodles ({{unichar|1F35C}}), [[dango]] ({{unichar|1F361}}), [[onigiri]] ({{unichar|1F359}}), [[Japanese curry|curry]] ({{unichar|1F35B}}), and [[sushi]] ({{unichar|1F363}}). [[Unicode Consortium]] founder [[Mark Davis (Unicode)|Mark Davis]] compared the use of emoji to a developing language, particularly mentioning the American use of [[eggplant]] ({{unichar|1F346}}) to represent a [[phallus]].<ref name=Bromwich>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/21/technology/how-emojis-find-their-way-to-phones.html |title=How Emojis find their way to phones |work=[[The New York Times]] |author=Bromwich, Jonah |date=October 20, 2015 |access-date=October 19, 2017}}</ref> Some [[Linguistics|linguists]] have classified emoji and [[emoticon]]s as [[discourse marker]]s.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://theconversation.com/emoticons-and-symbols-arent-ruining-language-theyre-revolutionizing-it-38408|title=Emoticons and symbols aren't ruining language – they're revolutionizing it|last=Collister|first=Lauren|website=The Conversation|date=April 6, 2015|access-date=March 25, 2016}}</ref>
[[File:Noto Color Emoji From Each Unicode Emoji Category.jpg|alt=A variety of emoji as they appear on Google's Noto Color Emoji set, as of 2024.|thumb|550x550px|A variety of emoji as they appear on Google's Noto Color Emoji set as of 2024 ]]
In December 2015, a [[sentiment analysis]] of emoji was published,<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Kralj Novak|first1=P.|last2=Smailović|first2=J.|last3=Sluban|first3=B.|last4=Mozetič|first4=I.|title=Sentiment of Emojis|journal=PLOS ONE|date=2015|volume=10|issue=12|article-number=e0144296|doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0144296|pmid=26641093|pmc=4671607|arxiv=1509.07761|bibcode=2015PLoSO..1044296K|doi-access=free}}</ref> and the Emoji Sentiment Ranking 1.0<ref>{{cite web|title=Emoji Sentiment Ranking|url=http://kt.ijs.si/data/Emoji_sentiment_ranking|access-date=December 8, 2015}}</ref> was provided. In 2016, a musical about emoji premiered in Los Angeles.<ref name="playbill.com">{{cite web|last1=Gans|first1=Andrew|title=New Musical About Emojis Will Premiere in Los Angeles|url=http://www.playbill.com/article/new-musical-about-emojis-will-premiere-in-los-angeles|website=Playbill|date=April 12, 2016|access-date=December 23, 2016}}</ref><ref name="timeout.com">{{cite web|last1=Cary|first1=Stephanie|title='Emojiland' is bringing your phone's emojis to life in LA|url=https://www.timeout.com/los-angeles/blog/emojiland-is-bringing-your-phones-emojis-to-life-in-la-050316|website=Timeout|date=April 14, 2016|access-date=December 23, 2016}}</ref>  The animated ''[[The Emoji Movie]]'' was released in summer 2017.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Fleming|first1=Mike Jr.|title=Emoji at Center of Bidding Battle Won By Sony Animation; Anthony Leondis To Direct|url=https://deadline.com/2015/07/emoji-movie-sony-pictures-animation-anthony-leondis-kung-fu-panda-secrets-of-the-masters-1201482768|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150722060125/http://deadline.com/2015/07/emoji-movie-sony-pictures-animation-anthony-leondis-kung-fu-panda-secrets-of-the-masters-1201482768/|archive-date=July 22, 2015|website=Deadline|date=July 2015|access-date=November 19, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|last1=Lawrence|first1=Derek|title=The Emoji Movie: Here's what the critics are saying|url=https://ew.com/movies/2017/07/27/emoji-movie-review-roundup/|magazine=Entertainment Weekly|date=July 27, 2017|access-date=August 13, 2017}}</ref>

In January 2017, in what is believed to be the first large-scale study of emoji usage, researchers at the [[University of Michigan]] analyzed over 1.2 billion messages input via the Kika Emoji Keyboard<ref>{{cite web| url=http://ns.umich.edu/new/releases/24857-emojis-how-we-assign-meaning-to-these-ever-popular-symbols| title=Emojis: How We Assign Meaning to These Ever-Popular Symbols| date=May 19, 2017| publisher=University of Michigan| access-date=November 30, 2017}}</ref> and announced that {{unichar|1F602|FACE WITH TEARS OF JOY}} was the most popular emoji. {{unichar|2764|suffix=&#xfe0f;|nlink=}} and {{unichar|1F60D}} stood second and third, respectively. The study also found that the French use heart emoji the most.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.futurity.org/emoji-countries-1328712-2/| title=People Around the World Use These Emojis The Most| date=January 3, 2017| publisher=Futurity| access-date=November 30, 2017}}</ref> People in countries like Australia, France, and the Czech Republic used more happy emoji, while this was not so for people in Mexico, Colombia, Chile, and Argentina, where people used more negative emoji in comparison to cultural hubs known for restraint and self-discipline, like Turkey, France, and Russia.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/technology/internet/%E2%80%98Face-with-tears-of-joy%E2%80%99-is-the-most-popular-emoji-says-study/article17025261.ece|title='Face with tears of joy' is the most popular emoji, says study|website=[[The Hindu]]|date=January 12, 2017}}</ref>

There has been discussion among legal experts on whether or not emoji could be admissible as evidence in court trials.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Semiotics of Emoji|last1=Danesi|first1=Marcel|date=2015|publisher=Bloomsbury|page=139}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/users/2015/10/emoticons_and_emojis_as_evidence_in_court.html|title=Exhibit A: ;-)|date=October 16, 2015|magazine=Slate|access-date=November 30, 2017}}</ref> Furthermore, as emoji continue to develop and grow as a "language" of symbols, there may also be the potential of the formation of emoji "dialects".<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/27/fashion/emoji-have-won-the-battle-of-words.html|title=The Emoji Have Won the Battle of Words|last=Bennett|first=Jessica|date=July 25, 2014|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=February 28, 2017|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Emoji are being used as more than just to show reactions and emotions.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.wired.com/2016/04/the-science-of-emoji/|title=The Emoji is the Birth of a New Type of Language (? No Joke)|date=April 19, 2016|magazine=Wired|access-date=November 30, 2017}}</ref> [[Snapchat]] has even incorporated emoji in its trophy and friends system with each emoji showing a complex meaning.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://snapchatemojimeanings.com|title=Snapchat Emoji Meanings|access-date=February 28, 2017|archive-date=August 15, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180815133017/https://snapchatemojimeanings.com/|url-status=usurped}}</ref> Emoji can also convey different meanings based on syntax and inversion. For instance, 'fairy comments' involve heart, star, and fairy emoji placed between the words of a sentence. These comments often invert the meanings associated with hearts and may be used to 'tread on borders of offense.'<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Kataria |first1=Priya |last2=Khanna |first2=Karman |title=Introducing Fairy Comments: Gen Z's Instrument of Online Kudos Trolling |journal=Journal of Creative Communications |date=17 April 2022 |doi=10.1177/09732586221090367 |s2cid=248234049 |url=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/09732586221090367 |access-date=22 September 2022|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

[[File:DeepMoji examples histogram.png|thumb|200px|right|Sample emoji probability distributions generated by the DeepMoji model]]
In 2017, the [[MIT Media Lab]] published {{visanc|'''DeepMoji'''}}, a [[deep neural network]] [[sentiment analysis]] algorithm that was trained on 1.2 billion emoji occurrences in [[Twitter]] data from 2013 to 2017.<ref>{{cite book |last=Felbo |first=Bjarke |arxiv=1708.00524 |title=Proceedings of the 2017 Conference on Empirical Methods in Natural Language Processing|chapter=Using millions of emoji occurrences to learn any-domain representations for detecting sentiment, emotion and sarcasm |date=2017 |pages=1615–1625 |doi=10.18653/v1/D17-1169 |s2cid=2493033 }}</ref><ref>
{{cite web
 |url= https://www.theregister.com/2017/08/07/sarcasm_detector_bot_mit/
 |title= A sarcasm detector bot? That sounds absolutely brilliant. Definitely
 |last= Corfield
 |first= Gareth
 |date= 2017-08-07
 |website= [[The Register]]
 |access-date= 2022-06-02
 |quote= }}</ref> DeepMoji was found to outperform human subjects in correctly identifying [[sarcasm]] in Tweets and other online modes of communication.<ref>
{{cite web
 |url= https://www.technologyreview.com/2017/08/03/105566/an-algorithm-trained-on-emoji-knows-when-youre-being-sarcastic-on-twitter/
 |title= An Algorithm Trained on Emoji Knows When You're Being Sarcastic on Twitter
 |last=
 |first=
 |date= 2017-08-03
 |website= [[MIT Technology Review]]
 |access-date= 2022-06-02
 |quote= }}</ref><ref>
{{cite web
 |url= https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-40850171
 |title= Emojis help software spot emotion and sarcasm
 |last=
 |first=
 |date= 2017-08-07
 |website= [[BBC]]
 |access-date= 2022-06-02
 |quote= }}</ref><ref>
{{cite web
 |url= https://www.newsweek.com/emoji-computer-sarcasm-emotion-training-hate-speech-647474
 |title= Emoji-Filled Mean Tweets Help Scientists Create Sarcasm-Detecting Bot That Could Uncover Hate Speech
 |last= Lowe
 |first= Josh
 |date= 2017-08-07
 |website= [[Newsweek]]
 |access-date= 2022-06-02
 |quote= }}</ref> In 2021, DeepMoji gained international attention when it was featured in the [[text-to-speech]] website [[15.ai]], which used its emoji [[Word embedding|embeddings]] to allow users to specify the emotion of [[deep learning speech synthesis|AI-generated speech]] through guiding phrases.<ref>{{cite web |last=Kurosawa |first=Yuki |year=2021 |title=ゲームキャラ音声読み上げソフト「15.ai」公開中。『Undertale』や『Portal』のキャラに好きなセリフを言ってもらえる |trans-title=Game Character Voice Reading Software "15.ai" Now Available. Get Characters from Undertale and Portal to Say Your Desired Lines |url=https://automaton-media.com/articles/newsjp/20210119-149494/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210119103031/https://automaton-media.com/articles/newsjp/20210119-149494/ |archive-date=January 19, 2021 |access-date=December 18, 2024 |website=[[:ja:AUTOMATON|AUTOMATON]] |language=ja}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Lamorlette |first=Robin |date=January 25, 2021 |title=Insolite : un site permet de faire dire ce que vous souhaitez à GlaDOS (et à d'autres personnages de jeux vidéo) |url=https://www.clubic.com/technologies-d-avenir/intelligence-artificielle/actualite-349691-insolite-un-site-permet-de-faire-dire-ce-que-vous-souhaitez-a-glados-et-a-d-autres-personnages-de-jeux-video-.html |access-date=March 23, 2025 |website=[[Clubic]] |language=fr |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250119094341/https://www.clubic.com/technologies-d-avenir/intelligence-artificielle/actualite-349691-insolite-un-site-permet-de-faire-dire-ce-que-vous-souhaitez-a-glados-et-a-d-autres-personnages-de-jeux-video-.html|archive-date=January 19, 2025|trans-title=Unusual: A site lets you make GlaDOS (and other video game characters) say whatever you want}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Ibáñez |first=Álvaro |date=June 15, 2022 |title=Un algoritmo que convierte texto a voz "con emoción y sentimiento" e imita a personajes y voces conocidas|trans-title=An algorithm that converts text to speech "with emotion and feeling" and imitates familiar characters and voices |url=https://www.microsiervos.com/archivo/tecnologia/algoritmo-texto-voz-emocion-sentimiento.html |website=[[:es:Microsiervos (blog)|Microsiervos]] |access-date=March 23, 2025 |language=es|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241212194934/https://www.microsiervos.com/archivo/tecnologia/algoritmo-texto-voz-emocion-sentimiento.html|archive-date=December 12, 2024}}</ref>

====Use in furthering causes====
{{cleanup|date=June 2022|reason=Some browsers do not display these emoji, so an additional PNG image would be helpful.|talksection=Talk:Emoji#Emojis_do_not_display_in_some_Chrome_browsers}}
On March 5, 2019,<ref>{{Cite web|title=Emoji Recently Added, v12.0|url=https://www.unicode.org/emoji/charts-12.0/emoji-released.html|access-date=2020-11-16|website=www.unicode.org}}</ref> a drop of [[blood]] ({{unichar|1FA78}}) emoji was released, which is intended to help break the stigma of [[menstruation]].<ref name=":02">{{Cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2019/02/08/692481425/why-period-activists-think-the-drop-of-blood-emoji-is-a-huge-win|title=Why Period Activists Think The 'Drop Of Blood' Emoji Is A Huge Win|newspaper=NPR|date=February 8, 2019|language=en|access-date=2019-02-11|last1=Gharib|first1=Malaka}}</ref> In addition to normalizing [[Menstrual cycle|periods]], it will also be relevant to describe medical topics such as [[donating blood]] and other blood-related activities.<ref name=":02" />

A [[mosquito]] ({{unichar|1F99F}}) emoji was added in 2018 to raise awareness for [[Mosquito-borne disease|diseases spread by the insect]], such as [[dengue]] and [[malaria]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ccp.jhu.edu/2017/09/18/creating-buzz-proposing-mosquito-emoji-public-health/|title=Creating Buzz: Proposing a Mosquito Emoji for Public Health|last=Desmon|first=Stephanie|date=2017-09-18|website=Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs|language=en-US|access-date=2019-02-11}}</ref>

== Linguistic function of emoji ==
Linguistically, emoji are used to indicate emotional state; they tend to be used more in positive communication. Some researchers believe emoji can be used for [[visual rhetoric]]. Emoji can be used to set emotional tone in messages. Emoji tend not to have their own meaning but act as a [[paralanguage]], adding meaning to text. Emoji can add clarity and credibility to text.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last1=Bai |first1=Qiyu |last2=Dan |first2=Qi |last3=Mu |first3=Zhe |last4=Yang |first4=Maokun |date=2019 |title=A Systematic Review of Emoji: Current Research and Future Perspectives |journal=Frontiers in Psychology |volume=10 |page=2221 |doi=10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02221 |pmid=31681068 |pmc=6803511 |issn=1664-1078|doi-access=free }}</ref>

[[Sociolinguistics|Sociolinguistically]], the use of emoji differs depending on speaker and setting. Women use emoji more than men. Men use a wider variety of emoji. Women are more likely to use emoji in public communication than in private communication. [[Extraversion and introversion|Extraversion]] and [[agreeableness]] are positively correlated with emoji use; [[neuroticism]] is negatively correlated. Emoji use differs between cultures: studies in terms of [[Hofstede's cultural dimensions theory]] found that cultures with high power distance and tolerance to indulgence used more negative emoji, while those with high uncertainty avoidance, individualism, and long-term orientation use more positive emoji.<ref name=":1" /> A 6-country [[user experience]] study showed that emoji-based scales (specifically the usage of [[smiley]]s) may ease the challenges related to [[translation]] and implementation for brief cross-cultural surveys.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Sedley |first1=Aaron |url=https://www.rti.org/rti-press-publication/language-survey-research |title=Scaling the Smileys: A Multicountry Investigation (Chapter 12) in The Essential Role of Language in Survey Research |last2=Yang |first2=Yongwei |date=2020-04-30 |publisher=RTI Press |isbn=978-1-934831-24-3 |editor-last=Sha |editor-first=Mandy |doi=10.3768/rtipress.bk.0023.2004 |doi-access=free}}</ref>

As emoji act as a paralanguage this causes a unique pattern to be seen in the bigrams, trigrams, and quadrigrams of emoji. A study conducted by Gretchen McCulloch and Lauren Gawne showed that the most common bigrams, trigrams, and quadrigrams of emoji are those that repeat the same emoji.<ref name=":03">{{Cite journal |last1=McCulloch |first1=Gretchen |last2=Gawne |first2=Lauren |date=2018 |title=Emoji Grammar as Beat Gestures |url=https://ceur-ws.org/Vol-2130/short1.pdf |journal=CEUR-WS.org |volume=2130 |page=4}}</ref> Unlike other languages emoji frequently are repeated one after another, while in languages, such as English, it is rare to see words repeated after one another.<ref name=":03" /> An example of this is that a common bigram for emoji is two crying laughing emoji. Rather than being a repeated word or phrase the use of emoji after one another typically represents an emphasize of the displayed emoji's meaning instead.<ref name=":03" /> So, one crying laughing emoji means something is funny, two represent it's really funny, three might represent it's incredibly funny, and so forth.

==<span id="Emoji communication problems">Emoji communication problems</span>==
{{see also|Models of communication}}

Research has shown that emoji are often misunderstood. In some cases, this misunderstanding is related to how the actual emoji design is interpreted by the viewer;<ref name="DailyDotMisunderstandEmoji">{{Cite news|url=https://www.dailydot.com/debug/emoji-miscommunicate/|title=Emoji can lead to huge misunderstandings, research finds|work=Daily Dot|first=Selena|last=Larson|date=April 11, 2016|access-date=March 30, 2017}}</ref> in other cases, the emoji that was sent is not shown in the same way on the receiving side.<ref name="GrouplensEmojiMiscommunication">{{Cite web|url=https://grouplens.org/blog/investigating-the-potential-for-miscommunication-using-emoji/|title=Investigating the Potential for Miscommunication Using Emoji|publisher=Grouplens|first=Hannah|last=Miller|date=April 5, 2016|access-date=March 30, 2017}}</ref>

The first issue relates to the cultural or contextual interpretation of the emoji. When the author picks an emoji, they think about it in a certain way, but the same character may not trigger the same thoughts in the mind of the receiver.<ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/what-the-emoji-youre-sending-actually-look-like-to-your-friends/| title=What the Emoji You're Sending Actually Look Like to Your Friends| date=November 12, 2015| publisher=Motherboard| access-date=November 30, 2017}}</ref> For example, people in China have developed a system for using emoji subversively so that a smiley face could be sent to convey a despising, mocking, and obnoxious attitude, as the [[orbicularis oculi]] (the muscle near that upper eye corner) on the face of the emoji does not move, and the [[orbicularis oris]] (the one near the mouth) tightens, which is believed to be a sign of suppressing a smile.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://qz.com/944693/chinese-people-mean-something-very-different-when-they-send-you-a-smiley-emoji/ |title=Chinese people mean something very different when they send you a smiley emoji |website=Quartz|date=March 29, 2017}}</ref>

The second problem relates to encodes. When an author of a message picks an emoji from a list, it is normally encoded in a non-graphical manner during the transmission, and if the author and the reader do not use the same software or operating system for their devices, the reader's device may visualize the same emoji in a different way. As an example, in April 2020, British actress and presenter [[Jameela Jamil]] posted a tweet from her iPhone using {{Unichar|1F92D}} as part of a comment on people shopping for food during the [[COVID-19 pandemic]]. On Apple's [[iOS]], the emoji expression was neutral and pensive, but on other platforms the emoji shows as a giggling face. Some fans thought that she was mocking poor people, but this was not her intended meaning.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://blog.emojipedia.org/emojipedia-lookups-at-all-time-high/ |title=Emojipedia Lookups At All Time High |date=April 15, 2020 |access-date=May 9, 2020}}</ref>

Researchers from the German Studies Institute at [[Ruhr University Bochum|Ruhr-Universität Bochum]] found that most people can easily understand an emoji when it replaces a word directly – like an icon for a rose instead of the word 'rose' – yet it takes people about 50 percent longer to comprehend the emoji.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Scheffler |first1=Tatjana |last2=Brandt |first2=Lasse |last3=Fuente |first3=Marie de la |last4=Nenchev |first4=Ivan |date=February 2022 |title=The processing of emoji-word substitutions: A self-paced-reading study |journal=Computers in Human Behavior |language=en |publication-date=25 October 2021 |volume=127 |article-number=107076 |doi=10.1016/j.chb.2021.107076|doi-access=free }}</ref>

===Variation and ambiguity===
Emoji characters vary slightly between platforms within the limits in meaning defined by the Unicode specification, as companies have tried to provide artistic presentations of ideas and objects.<ref name="Lost in translation: Android emoji vs iOS emoji">{{cite web|last1=Allsopp |first1=Ashleigh |title=Lost in translation: Android emoji vs iOS emoji |url=http://www.techadvisor.co.uk/opinion/mobile-phone/lost-in-translation-android-emoji-vs-ios-emoji |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141228093209/http://www.techadvisor.co.uk/opinion/mobile-phone/lost-in-translation-android-emoji-vs-ios-emoji/ |archive-date=December 28, 2014 |date=December 15, 2014 |website=Tech Advisor |access-date=August 15, 2015 }}</ref> For example, following an Apple tradition, the calendar emoji on Apple products always shows July 17, the date in 2002 Apple announced its [[iCal]] calendar application for [[macOS]]. This led some Apple product users to initially nickname July 17 "[[World Emoji Day]]".<ref>{{Cite news|title = Letting Our Emojis Get in the Way|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/18/nytnow/letting-our-emojis-get-in-the-way.html|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=July 17, 2015|access-date=August 25, 2015|first=Kathryn|last=Varn}}</ref> Other emoji fonts show different dates or do not show a specific one.<ref name="Calendar emoji">{{cite web|title=Calendar emoji|url=http://emojipedia.org/calendar|website=[[Emojipedia]]|access-date=August 15, 2015}}</ref>

Some Apple emoji are very similar to the SoftBank standard, since SoftBank was the first Japanese network on which the iPhone launched. For example, {{unichar|1F483|DANCER|nlink=💃}} is female on Apple and SoftBank standards but male or gender-neutral on others.<ref name="How Emoji Get Lost In Translation">{{cite news|last1=Bosker|first1=Bianca|title=How Emoji Get Lost in Translation|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/06/27/emoji-meaning_n_5530638.html|work=Huffington Post|date=June 27, 2014|access-date=August 15, 2015}}</ref>

Journalists have noted that the ambiguity of emoji has allowed them to take on culture-specific meanings not present in the original [[glyph]]s. For example, {{unichar|1F485|NAIL POLISH|nlink=💅}} has been described as being used in English-language communities to signify "non-caring fabulousness"<ref name="How to (pretend to) be young and down with the internet">{{cite news|last1=Hern|first1=Alex|title=How to (pretend to) be young and down with the internet|url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/aug/12/how-to-be-young-internet-lol-facebook|work=[[The Guardian]]|date=August 12, 2015|access-date=August 15, 2015}}</ref> and "anything from shutting [[wikt:hater|haters]] down to a sense of accomplishment".<ref name="The 31 Most Nail Care Emoji Moments Of 2014">{{cite web|last1=Jewell|first1=Hannah|title=The 31 Most Nail Care Emoji Moments of 2014|url=https://www.buzzfeed.com/hannahjewell/the-most-nail-care-emoji-moments-of-2014|website=Buzzfeed|date=December 13, 2014|access-date=August 15, 2015}}</ref><ref name="The Five Non-Negotiable Best Emojis in the Land">{{cite web|first1=Alexander|last1=Abad-Santos|first2=Allie|last2=Jones|title=The Five Non-Negotiable Best Emojis in the Land|url=http://www.thewire.com/culture/2014/03/the-only-five-emojis-you-need/359646/|website=The Atlantic Wire|date=March 26, 2014|access-date=August 15, 2015|archive-date=August 20, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160820011420/http://www.thewire.com/culture/2014/03/the-only-five-emojis-you-need/359646/}}</ref> Unicode manuals sometimes provide notes on auxiliary meanings of an object to guide designers on how emoji may be used, for example noting that some users may expect {{unichar|1F4BA|SEAT}} to stand for "a reserved or ticketed seat, as for an airplane, train, or theater".<ref name="Unicode Consortium">{{cite web|title=Miscellaneous Symbols and Pictographs|url=https://www.unicode.org/charts/beta/nameslist/n_1F300.html|website=Unicode Consortium|access-date=September 15, 2017}}</ref>

===Controversial emoji===
{{multiple images|align=right|direction=horizontal |image1=Android Emoji 1f52b.svg |image2=Noto Emoji KitKat 1f52b.svg |image3=Noto Emoji Lollipop 1f52b.svg |image4=Noto Emoji Oreo 1f52b.svg |image5=Noto Emoji Pie 1f52b.svg |footer=Evolution of the [[pistol emoji]] as rendered by stock [[Android (operating system)|Android]] systems. From left to right: Jelly Bean ([[pistol]]), KitKat ([[blunderbuss]]), Lollipop ([[revolver]]), Oreo (revolver) and Pie ([[water gun]]).|total_width=500}}
Some emoji have been involved in controversy due to their perceived meanings. Multiple arrests and imprisonments have followed the usage of pistol ({{unichar|1F52B}}), knife ({{unichar|1F5E1}}), and bomb ({{unichar|1F4A3}}) emoji in ways that authorities deemed credible threats.<ref name=AppleGun>{{cite web |url=https://money.cnn.com/2016/08/01/technology/apple-pistol-emoji/index.html |title=Apple replaces the pistol emoji with a water gun |last=Kelly |first=Heather |website=[[CNN]] Tech |date=August 2, 2017 |access-date=October 19, 2017}}</ref>

In the lead-up to the [[2016 Summer Olympics]], the Unicode Consortium considered proposals to add several Olympic-related emoji, including medals and events such as [[handball]] and [[water polo]].<ref name=newsweek>{{cite web |url=https://www.newsweek.com/new-emoji-candidates-be-voted-spring-2016-385196 |title=New Emoji Candidates to Be Voted On in Spring 2016 |last=Ziv |first=Stan |website=[[Newsweek]] |date=20 October 2015 |access-date=1 October 2018}}</ref> By October 2015, these candidate emoji included "[[ISSF shooting events|rifle]]" ({{unichar|1F946}}) and "[[modern pentathlon]]" ({{unichar|1F93B}}).<ref name=ep20151031>{{Cite news |url=https://emojipedia.org/unicode-9.0/ |title=Unicode 9.0 Emoji List |date=31 October 2015 |work=Emojipedia |access-date=1 October 2018 |language=en |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151031233229/https://emojipedia.org/unicode-9.0/ |archive-date=2015-10-31 }}</ref><ref name="OlympicRifle" /> However, in 2016, Apple and Microsoft opposed these two emoji, and the characters were added without emoji presentations, meaning that software is expected to render them in black-and-white rather than color, and emoji-specific software such as onscreen keyboards will generally not include them. In addition, while the original incarnations of the modern pentathlon emoji depicted its five events, including a man pointing a gun, the final glyph contains a person riding a horse, along with a laser pistol target in the corner.<ref name=AppleGun /><ref name="OlympicRifle">{{cite web |url=https://www.buzzfeed.com/charliewarzel/thanks-to-apples-influence-youre-not-getting-a-rifle-emoji |title=Thanks To Apple's Influence, You're Not Getting A Rifle Emoji |last=Warzel |first=Charlie |website=[[BuzzFeed]] |date=June 17, 2016 |access-date=October 19, 2017}}</ref><ref name=AppleStops>{{cite web |url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/trending/rifle-emoji-dropped-unicode-9-0-update-apple-microsoft-1.3645884 |title=Apple stops Unicode from releasing a rifle emoji, gun advocates get mad |website=[[CBC News]] |date=June 22, 2016 |access-date=October 19, 2017}}</ref>

{{multiple images|align=right|direction=horizontal|image1=Twemoji 1f52b.svg|alt1=Drawing of a revolver|image2=Twemoji12 1f52b.svg|alt2=Drawing of a water pistol|footer=Original (left) and revised (right) [[Twitter]] designs, showing the transition from a [[revolver]] to a [[water pistol]]|total_width=200}}
On August 1, 2016, [[Apple Inc.|Apple]] announced that in [[iOS 10]], the [[pistol]] emoji ({{unichar|1F52B}}) would be changed from a realistic [[revolver]] to a [[water pistol]].<ref name=AppleGun /> Conversely, the following day, Microsoft pushed out an update to [[Windows 10]] that changed its longstanding depiction of the pistol emoji as a toy [[raygun]] to a real revolver.<ref name=MicrosoftGun>{{cite web |url=https://www.engadget.com/2016/08/04/microsoft-new-real-gun-emoji/ |title=Microsoft just changed its toy gun emoji to a real pistol |last=Low |first=Cherlynn |website=[[Engadget]] |date=August 4, 2016 |access-date=October 19, 2017}}</ref> Microsoft stated that the change was made to bring the glyph more in line with industry-standard designs and customer expectations.<ref name=MicrosoftGun /> By 2018, most major platforms such as Google, Microsoft, Samsung, Facebook, and Twitter had transitioned their rendering of the pistol emoji to match Apple's water gun implementation.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://blog.emojipedia.org/all-major-vendors-commit-to-gun-redesign/|title=All Major Vendors Commit to Gun Redesign|date=April 27, 2018|work=Emojipedia|access-date=May 13, 2018|language=en}}</ref> Apple's change of depiction from a realistic gun to a toy gun was criticised by, among others, the editor of [[Emojipedia]], because it could lead to messages appearing differently to the receiver than the sender had intended.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-36985359|title=Apple urged to rethink gun emoji change|last=Baraniuk|first=Chris|website=[[BBC News Online]]|date=2016-08-05|access-date=2020-07-22}}</ref> ''[[Insider Inc.|Insider]]''{{'s}} Rob Price said it created the potential for "serious miscommunication across different platforms", and asked, "What if a joke sent from an Apple user to a Google user is misconstrued because of differences in rendering? Or if a genuine threat sent by a Google user to an Apple user goes unreported because it is taken as a joke?"<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.insider.com/apple-change-pistol-emoji-toy-confusion-precedent-meaning-retroactive-2016-8|title=There's a huge problem with Apple's plan to combat gun violence by changing an emoji|last=Price|first=Rob|date=2016-08-02|access-date=2020-07-22|website=[[Insider Inc.|Insider]] |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20231217025421/https://www.insider.com/apple-change-pistol-emoji-toy-confusion-precedent-meaning-retroactive-2016-8 |archive-date= 17 December 2023 }}</ref>

The [[eggplant emoji|eggplant (aubergine) emoji]] ({{unichar|1F346}}) has also seen controversy due to it being used to represent a [[penis]].<ref name=AmericanDialect /><ref name=Bromwich /><ref name=EggplantRising>{{cite journal |url=http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/users/2015/04/eggplant_rising_how_the_purple_fruit_surpassed_the_banana_as_the_most_phallic.html |title=Eggplant rising: How the purple fruit surpassed the banana as the most phallic food |last=Hess |first=Amanda |journal=[[Slate (magazine)|Slate]] |date=April 3, 2015 |access-date=October 19, 2017}}</ref><ref name=SordidHistory>{{cite web |url=https://firstwefeast.com/features/2015/06/eggplant-emoji-history |title=The Complete (and Sometimes Sordid) History of the Eggplant Emoji |last=Hofmann |first=Regan |website=[[First We Feast]] |date=June 3, 2015 |access-date=October 19, 2017 |archive-date=April 9, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190409115458/https://firstwefeast.com/features/2015/06/eggplant-emoji-history }}</ref> Beginning in December 2014, the [[hashtag]] {{nobr|#EggplantFridays}} began to rise to popularity on [[Instagram]] for use in marking photos featuring clothed or unclothed penises.<ref name=EggplantRising /><ref name=SordidHistory /> This became such a popular trend that, beginning in April 2015, Instagram disabled the ability to search for not only the {{nobr|#EggplantFridays}} tag, but also other eggplant-containing hashtags, including simply {{nobr|#eggplant}} and {{nobr|#🍆}}.<ref name=EggplantRising /><ref name=SordidHistory /><ref name=InstagramBlocks>{{cite web |url=https://money.cnn.com/2015/04/29/technology/eggplant-instagram-offensive/ |title=Instagram blocks 'offensive' eggplant emoji hashtag |last=Goldman |first=David |website=[[CNN]] Tech |date=April 29, 2015 |access-date=October 19, 2017}}</ref>

The [[peach]] emoji ({{unichar|1F351}}) has likewise been used as a euphemistic icon for [[buttocks]], with a 2016 [[Emojipedia]] analysis revealing that only seven percent of English language [[Twitter|tweets]] with the peach emoji refer to the actual fruit.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://blog.emojipedia.org/how-we-really-use-the-peach|title=How We Really Use The Peach|first=Hamdan|last=Azhar|date=December 16, 2016|work=Emojipedia|access-date=July 7, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://nymag.com/selectall/2016/12/what-does-peach-emoji-mean-its-a-butt.html|title=Very Official Study Finds Peach Emoji Most Often Paired With Eggplant|first=Madison|last=Kircher|date=December 16, 2016|work=Emojipedia|access-date=July 7, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://metro.co.uk/2018/01/18/what-do-the-aubergine-and-peach-emoji-mean-7240646/|title=What do the aubergine and peach emoji mean?|first=Avinash|last=Bhunjun|date=January 18, 2018|work=Metro UK|access-date=July 7, 2018}}</ref> In 2016, [[Apple Inc.|Apple]] attempted to redesign the emoji to less resemble buttocks. This was met with fierce backlash in beta testing, and Apple reversed its decision by the time it went live to the public.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/nov/16/everything-is-peachy-as-apple-restores-emojis-bum-features|title=Everything's peachy as Apple restores emoji's 'bum' features|first=Alex|last=Hern|date=November 16, 2016|work=The Guardian|access-date=December 20, 2017}}</ref>

In December 2017, a lawyer in [[Delhi]], [[India]], threatened to file a lawsuit against [[WhatsApp]] for allowing use of the [[The finger|middle finger]] emoji ({{unichar|1F595}}) on the basis that the company is "directly abetting the use of an offensive, [[Lascivious behavior|lewd]], obscene gesture" in violation of the [[Indian Penal Code]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://metro.co.uk/2017/12/27/lawyer-demands-whatsapp-gets-rid-lewd-middle-finger-emoji-7186571/|title=Lawyer demands WhatsApp gets rid of the 'lewd' middle finger emoji|date=December 27, 2017|work=Metro|access-date=December 28, 2017|language=en-GB}}</ref>

==Emoji implementation==
{{main|Implementation of emoji}}

===Early implementation in Japan===
Various, often incompatible, character encoding schemes were developed by the different mobile providers in Japan for their own emoji sets.<ref name="utcL210132" /><ref name="EmojiSources">{{cite web |url=https://www.unicode.org/Public/UCD/latest/ucd/EmojiSources.txt |title=Emoji Sources |work=Unicode Character Database |author=Unicode Consortium |author-link=Unicode Consortium}}</ref> For example, the extended [[Shift JIS]] representation F797 is used for a [[convenience store]] (🏪) by SoftBank, but for a [[wristwatch]] (⌚️) by KDDI.<ref name="EmojiSources" /><ref name="utcL210132" /> All three vendors also developed schemes for encoding their emoji in the Unicode [[Private Use Area]]: DoCoMo, for example, used the range U+E63E through U+E757.<ref name="utcL210132" /> Versions of [[iOS]] prior to 5.1 encoded emoji in the SoftBank private use area.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://emojipedia.org/apple/ios-5.1/ |work=[[Emojipedia]] |title=Apple iOS 5.1}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://emojipedia.org/apple/iphone-os-2.2/ |work=[[Emojipedia]] |title=Apple iPhone OS 2.2}}</ref>
===Unicode support considerations===
Most, but not all, emoji are included in the [[Supplementary Multilingual Plane]] (SMP) of Unicode, which is also used for ancient scripts, some modern scripts such as [[Adlam (Unicode block)|Adlam]] or [[Osage (Unicode block)|Osage]], and special-use characters such as [[Mathematical Alphanumeric Symbols]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.unicode.org/roadmaps/smp/smp-13-0-3.html |title=Roadmap to the SMP |first1=Michael |last1=Everson |first2=Rick |last2=McGowan |first3=Ken |last3=Whistler |first4=V.S. |last4=Umamaheswaran |date=2020-07-22 |version=Revision 13.0.3}}</ref> Some systems introduced prior to the advent of Unicode emoji were only designed to support characters in the [[Basic Multilingual Plane]] (BMP) on the assumption that non-BMP characters would rarely be encountered,<ref name="backendless">{{cite web |url=https://backendless.com/extended-string-data-type/ |title=How We Store Emojis in Your Database, or Why We Got Rid of the Extended String Data Type |first=Sergey |last=Chupov |date=2019-06-06 |publisher=Backendless Corporation}}</ref> although failure to properly handle characters outside of the BMP precludes Unicode compliance.<ref name="lundeastral">{{cite book |last=Lunde |first=Ken |year=2009 |title=CJKV Information Processing |edition=2nd |page=200 |location=Sebastopol CA. |publisher=[[O'Reilly Media]] |isbn=978-0-596-51447-1}}</ref>

The introduction of Unicode emoji created an incentive for vendors to improve their support for non-BMP characters.<ref name="backendless"/> The Unicode Consortium notes that "[b]ecause of the demand for emoji, many implementations have upgraded their Unicode support substantially", also helping support minority languages that use those features.<ref name="detract">{{cite web |url=https://unicode.org/faq/emoji_dingbats.html#EO1 |title=Don't emoji detract from the other work of the consortium? |series=Frequently Asked Questions: Emoji and Pictographs |publisher=[[Unicode Consortium]]}}</ref>

===Color support===
Any operating system that supports adding additional fonts to the system can add an emoji-supporting font. However, inclusion of colorful emoji in existing font formats requires dedicated support for color [[glyphs]]. Not all operating systems have support for color fonts, so, emoji might have to be rendered as black-and-white line art or not at all. There are four different formats used for multi-color glyphs in an [[SFNT]] font,<ref name="mscolotf">{{citation|mode=cs1 |url=https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/directwrite/color-fonts#what-kinds-of-color-fonts-does-windows-support |title=Color Fonts |work=[[Microsoft Docs]] |date=2018-05-31 |author=Microsoft |author-link=Microsoft}}</ref> not all of which are necessarily supported by a given operating system library or software package such as a web browser or graphical program.<ref name="cfwt">{{cite web |url=https://www.colorfonts.wtf/#section2 |title=What's inside color fonts? |website=Color Fonts – Get ready for the revolution!}}</ref>

===Implementation by different platforms and vendors===
Apple first introduced emoji to their desktop operating system with the release of [[Mac OS X Lion|OS X 10.7 Lion]], in 2011. Users can view emoji characters sent through email and messaging applications, which are commonly shared by mobile users, as well as any other application. Users can create emoji symbols using the "Characters" special input panel from almost any native application by selecting the "Edit" menu and pulling down to "Special Characters", or by the key combination {{key press|Command|Option|T}}. The emoji keyboard was first available in Japan with the release of [[iPhone OS 2|iPhone OS version 2.2]] in 2008.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Apple releases iPhone Software v2.2|url=https://appleinsider.com/article/?id=10447|website=AppleInsider|access-date=February 28, 2017|archive-date=March 1, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170301180231/http://appleinsider.com/article/?id=10447}}</ref> The emoji keyboard was not officially made available outside of Japan until [[iOS 5|iOS version 5.0]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Standard Emoji keyboard arrives to iOS 5, here's how to enable it|url=https://9to5mac.com/2011/06/08/standard-emoji-keyboard-arrives-to-ios-5-heres-how-to-enable-it/|website=9to5Mac|date=June 8, 2011|access-date=February 28, 2017}}</ref> From iPhone OS 2.2 through to iOS 4.3.5 (2011), those outside Japan could access the keyboard but had to use a third-party app to enable it. Apple has revealed that the {{Unichar|1F602}} is the most popular emoji among English-speaking Americans. On second place is the red heart emoji, followed by {{Unichar|1F62D}}.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.macrumors.com/2017/11/03/face-with-tears-of-joy-most-popular-emoji/ |website=MacRumors |date=November 3, 2017 |first1=Joe |last1=Rossignol |title=Apple Says 'Face With Tears of Joy' is Most Popular Emoji in United States Among English Speakers|access-date=November 3, 2017|language=en}}</ref>{{Better citation needed|reason=The current source is insufficiently reliable ([[WP:NOTRS]]).|date=August 2024}}

An update for [[Windows 7]] and [[Windows Server 2008 R2]] brought a subset of the monochrome Unicode set to those operating systems as part of the ''[[Segoe|Segoe UI Symbol]]'' font.<ref name="An update for the Segoe UI symbol font in Windows 7 and in Windows Server 2008 R2 is available">{{cite web |url=http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2729094|title=An update for the Segoe UI symbol font in Windows 7 and in Windows Server 2008 R2 is available|publisher=Microsoft Support |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141229143136/http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2729094 |archive-date= Dec 29, 2014 }}</ref> As of [[Windows 8]] Preview, the ''Segoe UI Emoji'' font is included, which supplies full-color pictographs. The plain Segoe UI font lacks emoji characters, whereas Segoe UI Symbol and Segoe UI Emoji include them. Emoji characters can be accessed through the onscreen keyboard's {{key press|😀}} key. The emoji panel shortcut {{key press|Win|.}} was added in [[Windows 10 version 1803]].

In 2016, [[Firefox]] 50 added in-browser emoji rendering for platforms lacking in native support.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/50.0/releasenotes/ | title=Firefox 50.0, See All New Features, Updates and Fixes |website=Mozilla |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240115064222/https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/50.0/releasenotes/ |archive-date= Jan 15, 2024 }}</ref>

[[Facebook]] and [[Twitter]] replace all Unicode emoji used on their websites with their own custom graphics. Prior to October 2017, Facebook had different sets for the main site and for its [[Facebook Messenger|Messenger]] service, where only the former provides complete coverage. Messenger now uses Apple emoji on iOS, and the main Facebook set elsewhere.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://blog.emojipedia.org/facebook-discontinues-messenger-emojis/ |title=Facebook Discontinues Messenger Emojis |date=2 October 2017 |publisher=[[Emojipedia]] |first=Jeremy |last=Burge |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230924002918/https://blog.emojipedia.org/facebook-discontinues-messenger-emojis/ |archive-date= Sep 24, 2023 }}</ref> [[Facebook like button#Use on Facebook|Facebook reactions]] are only partially compatible with standard emoji.<ref>{{Cite web|title=👍 Facebook Emoji List — Emojis and Reacts for Facebook|url=https://emojipedia.org/facebook/|access-date=2022-02-07|website=Emojipedia|language=en|quote=Facebook provides animated "emoji" reactions to posts. Reactions do not correspond to specific emoji in the Unicode standard (...). In March 2020, Facebook added a ''Care'' emoji reaction as an additional option in response to COVID-19. This is displayed similarly to a hugging face holding a red love heart. This ''Care emoji'' is not available as a standardized Unicode emoji, and can only be used in reactions to Facebook posts.}}</ref>

==Modifiers==
===Emoji versus text presentation===
Unicode defines [[Variant form (Unicode)|variation sequences]] for many of its emoji to indicate their desired presentation.
{{blockquote |text=Emoji characters can have two main kinds of presentation:
* an ''emoji presentation'', with colorful and perhaps whimsical shapes, even animated
* a ''text presentation'', such as black & white |source=Unicode Technical Report #51: Unicode Emoji<ref name="UTR51"/>}}

Specifying the desired presentation is done by following the base emoji with either U+FE0E VARIATION SELECTOR-15 (VS15) for text or U+FE0F VARIATION SELECTOR-16 (VS16) for emoji-style.<ref name="UniStdVarTxt">{{Cite web|url=https://www.unicode.org/Public/UCD/latest/ucd/StandardizedVariants.txt|title=UCD: Standardized Variation Sequences|publisher=Unicode Consortium|access-date=August 17, 2016}}</ref> As of version {{Unicode version|version=17}} (2025), Unicode defines presentation sequences for 371 characters.<ref>[https://www.unicode.org/Public/17.0.0/ucd/emoji/emoji-variation-sequences.txt Emoji-variation-sequences.txt]</ref> However, the [[Unicode Technical Committee]] has since determined that unifying colourful emoji characters with textual symbols and dingbats was a "mistake", and resolved to allocate new [[code point]]s rather than defining new presentation sequences.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2023/23252-legacy-disunification.pdf |title=Proposal to disunify Symbols for Legacy Computing from emoji |first1=Rebecca |last1=Bettencourt |first2=Doug |last2=Ewell |id=[[Unicode Technical Committee|UTC]] L2/23-252}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable nounderlines" style="border-collapse:collapse;background:#FFFFFF;font-size:150%;text-align:center"
|+ style="font-size: 67%" | Sample emoji variation sequences
|- style="background:#F8F8F8;font-size: 67%"
! scope="col" style="text-align:right" | U+ || 2139 || 231B || 26A0 || 2712 || 2764 || 1F004 || 1F21A
|- style="background:#F8F8F8;font-size: 67%"
! scope="col" style="text-align:left" | Default{{nbsp}}presentation || Text || Emoji || Text || Text || Text || Emoji || Emoji
|-
! scope="col" style="background:#F8F8F8;font-size: 67%;text-align:left" | Base{{nbsp}}code&nbsp;point
| ℹ || ⌛ || ⚠ || ✒ || ❤ || 🀄 || 🈚
|-
! scope="col" style="background:#F8F8F8;font-size: 67%;text-align:left" | Base+VS15 (text)
| {{emoji presentation|ℹ|text}} || {{emoji presentation|⌛|text}} || {{emoji presentation|⚠|text}} || {{emoji presentation|✒|text}} || {{emoji presentation|❤|text}} || {{emoji presentation|🀄|text}} || {{emoji presentation|🈚|text}}
|-
! scope="col" style="background:#F8F8F8;font-size: 67%;text-align:left" | Base+VS16 (emoji)
| {{emoji presentation|ℹ}} || {{emoji presentation|⌛}} || {{emoji presentation|⚠}} || {{emoji presentation|✒}} || {{emoji presentation|❤}} || {{emoji presentation|🀄}} || {{emoji presentation|🈚}}
|-
! scope="col" style="background:#F8F8F8;font-size: 67%;text-align:left" | Twemoji image
| [[File:Twemoji2 2139.svg|22px]]
| [[File:Twemoji2 231b.svg|22px]]
| [[File:Twemoji2 26a0.svg|22px]]
| [[File:Twemoji2 2712.svg|22px]]
| [[File:Twemoji2 2764.svg|22px]]
| [[File:Twemoji2 1f004.svg|22px]]
| [[File:Twemoji2 1f21a.svg|22px]]
|}

===Skin color===
{{Main|Emoji modifiers}}

Five symbol modifier characters were added with Unicode 8.0 to provide a range of skin tones for human emoji. These modifiers are U+1F3FB–U+1F3FF. They are based on the [[Fitzpatrick scale]] for classifying human skin color. Human emoji that are not followed by one of these five modifiers should be displayed in a generic, non-realistic skin tone, such as bright yellow (<span style="color: #ffcc22;font-size:large;">■</span>), blue (<span style="color: #3399CC;font-size:large;">■</span>), or gray (<span style="color: #CCCCCC;font-size:large;">■</span>).<ref name="UTR51"/> Human emoji that are followed directly by these characters should take on their skin color,<ref>{{Cite web |title=UTS #51: Unicode Emoji |url=https://unicode.org/reports/tr51/#Diversity |access-date=2025-06-01 |website=unicode.org}}</ref> as shown in the following table displaying skin tone variations of {{unichar2|🧑}}:


{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="border-collapse:collapse;background:#FFFFFF"
|+ style="font-size:small" | Sample use of Fitzpatrick modifiers
|-
! !! Text !! Image
|-
! scope="row" | Without modifier
| style="font-size:160%" | 🧑 || [[File:Twemoji2 1f9d1.svg|25px]]
|-
! scope="row" | {{unichar2|🏻}}
| style="font-size:160%" | 🧑🏻 || [[File:Twemoji2 1f9d1-1f3fb.svg|25px]]
|-
! scope="row" | {{unichar2|🏼}}
| style="font-size:160%" | 🧑🏼 || [[File:Twemoji2 1f9d1-1f3fc.svg|25px]]
|-
! scope="row" | {{unichar2|🏽}}
| style="font-size:160%" | 🧑🏽 || [[File:Twemoji2 1f9d1-1f3fd.svg|25px]]
|-
! scope="row" | {{unichar2|🏾}}
| style="font-size:160%" | 🧑🏾 || [[File:Twemoji2 1f9d1-1f3fe.svg|25px]]
|-
! scope="row" | {{unichar2|🏿}}
| style="font-size:160%" | 🧑🏿 || [[File:Twemoji2 1f9d1-1f3ff.svg|25px]]
|}

Non-human emoji (like {{unichar|26FD|FUEL PUMP}}) are unaffected by the Fitzpatrick modifiers.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Davis |first1=Mark |author-link1=Mark Davis (Unicode) |last2=Holbrook |first2=Ned |date=2023-09-05 |title=Unicode Technical Standard #51: Unicode Emoji § Expected Emoji Modifiers Display |url=https://unicode.org/reports/tr51/#Emoji_Modifiers_Display |institution=[[Unicode Consortium]]}}</ref> {{Unicode version|prefix=Asof|version=17}}, Fitzpatrick modifiers can be used with 133 human emoji spread across seven blocks: [[Dingbats (Unicode block)#Emoji modifiers|Dingbats]], [[Emoticons (Unicode block)#Emoji modifiers|Emoticons]], [[Miscellaneous Symbols#Emoji modifiers|Miscellaneous Symbols]], [[Miscellaneous Symbols and Pictographs#Emoji modifiers|Miscellaneous Symbols and Pictographs]], [[Supplemental Symbols and Pictographs#Emoji modifiers|Supplemental Symbols and Pictographs]], [[Symbols and Pictographs Extended-A#Emoji modifiers|Symbols and Pictographs Extended-A]], and [[Transport and Map Symbols#Emoji modifiers|Transport and Map Symbols]].<ref name="EmojiData" />

===Joining===
[[File:Zero Width (Non)Joiner.svg|thumb|upright=1.6|Behaviour of the {{control code link|ZWJ}} and {{control code link|ZWNJ}} format controls with various types of character, including emoji]]
Implementations may use a [[zero-width joiner]] (ZWJ) between multiple emoji to make them behave like a single, unique emoji character.<ref name="UTR51"/> For example, the sequence {{unichar|1F468|MAN}}, {{unichar|200D|ZWJ}}, {{unichar|1F469|WOMAN}}, {{unichar|200D|ZWJ}}, {{unichar|1F467|GIRL}} (👨‍👩‍👧) could be displayed as a single emoji depicting a family with a man, a woman, and a girl if the implementation supports it. Systems that do not support it would ignore the ZWJs, displaying only the three base emoji in order (👨👩👧).

{{anchor|RGI}}Unicode previously maintained a catalog of emoji ZWJ sequences that were supported on at least one commonly available platform. The consortium has since switched to documenting sequences that are ''recommended for general interchange'' (RGI). These are clusters that emoji fonts are expected to include as part of the standard.<ref name="ZWJSequences">{{Cite web|url=https://www.unicode.org/emoji/charts/emoji-zwj-sequences.html|title=Emoji ZWJ Sequences Catalog|publisher=Unicode Consortium|date=June 14, 2016}}</ref>

The ZWJ has also been used to implement platform-specific emoji. For example, in 2016, Microsoft released a series of Ninja Cat emoji for their [[Windows 10 Anniversary Update]]. The sequence {{unichar|1F431|CAT FACE}}, {{unichar|200D|ZWJ}}, {{unichar|1F464|BUST IN SILHOUETTE}} was used to create Ninja Cat (🐱‍👤).{{efn|Five other Ninja Cat emoji were released: Stunt Cat (🐱‍🏍), Hacker Cat (🐱‍💻), Dino Cat (🐱‍🐉), Hipster Cat (🐱‍👓) and Astro Cat (🐱‍🚀).}}<ref name="Burge">{{cite web|url=https://blog.emojipedia.org/ninja-cat-the-windows-only-emoji/#fn1|title=Ninja Cat: The Windows-only Emoji|last=Burge|first=Jeremy|date=April 11, 2016|work=[[Emojipedia]]|access-date=5 June 2022}}</ref> Ninja Cat and variants were removed in late 2021's ''Fluent'' emoji redesign.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://emojipedia.org/ninja-cat/|title=Ninja Cat|work=[[Emojipedia]]|access-date=5 June 2022}}</ref>

==In Unicode<span class="anchor" id="Unicode blocks"></span>==
{{Main|List of emoji}}
Unicode {{Unicode version|version=17.0}} specifies a total of 3,953 emoji using 1,438 characters spread across 24 blocks, of which 26 are [[Regional indicator symbol]]s that combine in pairs to form flag emoji, and 12 (#, * and 0–9) are base characters for [[keycap]] emoji sequences.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://unicode.org/emoji/charts/emoji-counts.html|title=Emoji Counts|access-date=2025-09-10}}</ref><ref name="EmojiData">{{Cite web|url=https://www.unicode.org/Public/UCD/latest/ucd/emoji/emoji-data.txt|title=UCD: Emoji Data for UTR #51|publisher=Unicode Consortium|date=2025-07-25}}</ref><ref name="UTR51">{{Cite web|url=https://unicode.org/reports/tr51/|title=UTR #51: Unicode Emoji|publisher=Unicode Consortium|date=2025-09-04}}</ref>

* 33 code points in the [[Dingbat#Unicode|Dingbats]] block are considered emoji.
* All of the code points in the [[Emoticons (Unicode block)|Emoticons]] block are considered emoji.
* 83 code points in the [[Miscellaneous Symbols]] block are considered emoji.
* 637 code points in the [[Miscellaneous Symbols and Pictographs]] block are considered emoji.
* 242 code points in the [[Supplemental Symbols and Pictographs]] block are considered emoji.
* All of the code points in the [[Symbols and Pictographs Extended-A]] block are considered emoji.
* 106 code points in the [[Transport and Map Symbols]] block are considered emoji.

{{Unicode chart single emojis|fontfam='Apple Color Emoji','Segoe UI Emoji','Segoe UI Symbol','Noto Color Emoji'}}

Additional emoji can be found in the following Unicode blocks:
[[Arrows (Unicode block)|Arrows]] (8 code points considered emoji),
[[Basic Latin (Unicode block)|Basic Latin]] (12),
[[CJK Symbols and Punctuation]] (2),
[[Enclosed Alphanumeric Supplement]] (41),
[[Enclosed Alphanumerics]] (1),
[[Enclosed CJK Letters and Months]] (2),
[[Enclosed Ideographic Supplement]] (15),
[[General Punctuation]] (2),
[[Geometric Shapes (Unicode block)|Geometric Shapes]] (8),
[[Geometric Shapes Extended]] (13),
[[Latin-1 Supplement]] (2),
[[Letterlike Symbols]] (2),
[[Mahjong Tiles (Unicode block)|Mahjong Tiles]] (1),
[[Miscellaneous Symbols and Arrows]] (7),
[[Miscellaneous Technical]] (18),
[[Playing Cards (Unicode block)|Playing Cards]] (1), and
[[Supplemental Arrows-B]] (2).

==In popular culture==
* The 2009 film ''[[Moon (2009 film)|Moon]]'' featured a robot named GERTY who communicates using a neutral-toned synthesized voice together with a screen showing emoji representing the corresponding emotional content.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://typesetinthefuture.com/2014/02/11/moon/ |title=Moon |last=Addey |first=Dave |website=Typeset in the Future |date=February 11, 2014 |access-date=August 23, 2017}}</ref>
* In 2014, the [[Library of Congress]] acquired an emoji version of [[Herman Melville]]'s ''[[Moby Dick]]'' created by [[Fred Benenson]].<ref>{{cite magazine|first=Christopher|last=Shea| url=http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/text-me-ishmael-reading-moby-dick-emoji-180949825/| title=Text Me, Ishmael: Reading Moby Dick in Emoji| date=March 2014| magazine=Smithsonian Magazine| access-date=August 23, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|last=Hollander|first=Jenny| url=https://www.bustle.com/articles/9208-emoji-dick-moby-dick-translated-into-emoji-icons-this-exists| title=Emoji Dick: Moby Dick, Translated Into Emoji Icons. This Exists| date=November 19, 2013| magazine=Bustle| access-date=August 23, 2017}}</ref>
* A musical called ''[[Emojiland]]'' premiered at Rockwell Table & Stage in Los Angeles in May 2016<ref name="playbill.com"/><ref name="timeout.com"/> after selected songs were presented at the same venue in 2015.<ref>{{cite web|author=BWW News Desk|title=EMOJILAND: THE MUSICAL Plays Rockwell Table & Stage|url=http://www.broadwayworld.com/los-angeles/article/Photo-Flash-EMOJILAND-THE-MUSICAL-Plays-Rockwell-Table-Stage-20150807|website=BroadwayWorld|date=August 7, 2015|access-date=December 23, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author=BWW News Desk|title=EMOJILAND Premieres Two Additional Songs at Rockwell LA|url=http://www.broadwayworld.com/los-angeles/article/Photo-Flash-EMOJILAND-Premieres-Two-Additional-Songs-at-Rockwell-LA-20151015|website=BroadwayWorld|date=October 15, 2015|access-date=December 23, 2016}}</ref>
* In October 2016, the [[Museum of Modern Art]] acquired the original collection of emoji distributed by NTT DoCoMo in 1999.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://mashable.com/2016/10/26/original-emoji-moma/#GYC.YU_AumqJ| title=These Emoji Are Now Part of MoMA's Permanent Collection| date=October 26, 2016| website=Mashable| access-date=August 23, 2017}}</ref>
* In November 2016, the first emoji-themed convention, Emojicon, was held in San Francisco.<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Steinmetz|first=Katy|place=San Francisco|url=https://time.com/4559662/emojicon-emoji-convention-2016/|title=What It's Like Inside the World's First Emoji Convention|magazine=Time|publication-place=New York City|date=November 6, 2016|access-date=July 18, 2020}}</ref>
* In March 2017, the first episode of [[Samurai Jack (season 5)|the fifth season of ''Samurai Jack'']] featured alien characters who communicate in emoji.<ref>{{cite news|first=Daniel|last=DeAngelo|title=The Face-palming Finale of 'Samurai Jack'|url=https://studybreaks.com/2017/06/14/samurai-jack-2-2/|access-date=July 7, 2017|work=Study Breaks|date=June 14, 2017}}</ref>
* In April 2017, the ''[[Doctor Who]]'' episode "[[Smile (Doctor Who)|Smile]]" featured nanobots called Vardy, which communicate through robotic avatars that use emoji (without any accompanying speech output) and are sometimes referred to by the time travelers as "Emojibots".<ref>{{cite web|last=Mulkern|first=Patrick|title=Doctor Who Smile review: 'A grief tsunami! It's a tough one to sell and I'm not buying it'|url=http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2017-04-22/doctor-who-smile-review-a-grief-tsunami-its-a-tough-one-to-sell-and-im-not-buying-it|website=Radio Times|access-date=April 23, 2017}}</ref>
* On July 28, 2017, [[Sony Pictures Animation]] released ''[[The Emoji Movie]]'', an animated movie featuring the voices of [[Patrick Stewart]], [[Christina Aguilera]], [[Sofía Vergara]], [[Anna Faris]], [[T. J. Miller]], and other notable actors and comedians.<ref name=Dec2015CS>{{cite web|last1=Perry|first1=Spencer|title=Emoji Movie, Animated Spider-Man and Peter Rabbit Get Release Dates|url=https://www.comingsoon.net/movies/news/642987-sony-animation-dates-the-emoji-movie-delays-animated-spider-man|access-date=December 23, 2015|publisher=ComingSoon.net|date=December 22, 2015|language=en-US|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151223163139/http://www.comingsoon.net/movies/news/642987-sony-animation-dates-the-emoji-movie-delays-animated-spider-man|archive-date=December 23, 2015}}</ref> It was universally panned, and it has been considered one of the worst animated films.
* On September 3, 2021, [[Drake (musician)|Drake]] released his sixth studio [[album]], ''[[Certified Lover Boy]]''. The album's cover art features twelve emoji of pregnant women in varying [[clothing]] colors, hair colors, and skin tones.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.complex.com/style/drake-certified-lover-boy-cover-art-reactions/|title=Drake's 'Certified Lover Boy' Cover Art Featuring Pregnant Emoji Has Everyone Scratching Their Heads|website=[[Complex (magazine)|Complex]]|last=Cowen|first=Trace William|date=August 30, 2021|access-date=August 30, 2021|archive-date=August 30, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210830174916/https://www.complex.com/style/drake-certified-lover-boy-cover-art-reactions/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.insider.com/drake-certified-lover-boy-album-cover-art-reactions-twitter-2021-8|title=Drake's new album art oddly features 12 pregnant women as emojis, and everyone from Lil Nas X to his fans are making fun of it|website=[[Insider (website)|Insider]]|last=Ahlgrim|first=Callie|date=August 30, 2021|access-date=August 31, 2021|archive-date=August 31, 2021|archive-url=https://archive.today/20210831091115/https://www.insider.com/drake-certified-lover-boy-album-cover-art-reactions-twitter-2021-8|url-status=live}}</ref>

==See also==
<!---♦♦♦ Please keep the list in alphabetical order  ♦♦♦--->
* [[Blob emoji]]
* [[Emojipedia]]
* [[Emojli]]
* [[Hieroglyphs]]
* [[iConji]]
* [[Kaomoji]]
* [[List of emoji]]
* [[Pictogram]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Further reading==
* {{Cite book |last=Houston |first=Keith |year=2025 |title=Face with Tears of Joy: A Natural History of Emoji |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f7spEQAAQBAJ |url-access= |edition=First (trade paperback) |location=New York |publisher=W. W. Norton & Company |isbn=978-1-324-07514-1 |oclc=1455397262 }}
* {{Cite magazine |last1=Pardes |first1=Arielle |date=1 February 2018 |title=The WIRED Guide to Emoji |url=https://www.wired.com/story/guide-emoji/ |url-access=subscription |magazine=[[Wired (magazine)|Wired]] |issn=1059-1028}}

==External links==
{{sister project links|d=Q1049294|c=category:Emoji|wikt=emoji|voy=no|species=no|s=no|m=no|mw=no|n=no|q=no|b=Digital Technology and Cultures/Pragmatism and Emoji as a Universal Language|v=Motivation and emotion/Book/2018/Emoticons, emoji, and the electronic communication of emotion}}
* [https://www.unicode.org/reports/tr51/ Unicode Technical Report #51: Unicode emoji]
* [https://www.science.co.il/language/unicode/categories/ Categorized listing of emojis with links to individual characters that can be copied to clipboard]
* [https://www.unicode.org/faq/emoji_dingbats.html The Unicode FAQ – Emoji & Dingbats]
* [http://sites.google.com/site/unicodesymbols/Home/emoji-symbols Emoji Symbols]&nbsp;– the original proposals for encoding of emoji symbols as Unicode characters
* [https://www.unicode.org/~scherer/emoji4unicode/snapshot/utc Background data for Unicode proposal]
* [https://emojipedia.org/ Emojipedia] – an online encyclopedia of emoji and their branded variations
* [http://emojitracker.com emojitracker] – list of most popularly used emoji on the Twitter platform; updated in real-time

{{Emoji navbox|state=expanded}}
{{Internet slang}}
{{List of writing systems}}
{{Portal bar|1990s|Internet|Japan|Technology|Writing}}

[[Category:Emoji| ]]
[[Category:Computer-related introductions in 1997]]
[[Category:Computer icons]]
[[Category:Internet culture]]
[[Category:Internet slang]]
[[Category:Japanese inventions]]
[[Category:Japanese writing system terms]]
[[Category:Japanese writing system]]
[[Category:Online chat]]
[[Category:Pictograms]]