Frequently Asked Questions
Straight answers to the things people actually ask about emoji and about this site.
How do I copy an emoji?
Tap or click the emoji and it goes straight to your clipboard. Emoji with a small dot in the corner have skin-tone variants — choose your tone from the selector at the top of the page first, and the copy will use it. On a phone, long-press an emoji to open its detail card instead.
Why does an emoji look different on my phone than in the preview?
Emoji are characters, not pictures. The font on your device draws them, which is why 😀 looks subtly different on Apple, Google, Samsung and Windows hardware. The site deliberately shows the character your device would render rather than a picture, so what you see is what you will paste. The detail card shows all three platform designs side by side.
What are skin-tone modifiers?
Five modifier characters — light, medium-light, medium, medium-dark and dark — that can be appended to around 323 human emoji to change their skin tone. They exist so people can represent themselves. Emoji without a tone modifier are not 'white'; they simply use each platform's default design.
What is a mixed-tone emoji?
Some emoji contain two people, such as a handshake or a couple. Those support a different tone for each person, giving 25 combinations. There are 260 of them in total. Open one — a handshake, say — and you will find all its mixed-tone combinations on the detail card.
Is this site free? Do I need an account?
It is free, there is no signup, no account and no ads. Favourites and your copying history are stored in your own browser and are never sent anywhere. Nothing about your use of the site is tracked.
Can I use these emoji in my own work?
Yes. Emoji are standard Unicode characters — no one owns them and no permission or attribution is needed to type them. The designs differ per platform, so if you need one specific look in a design file, use that platform's own artwork under its own licence.
Does it work offline?
Yes. After your first visit the site is cached on your device and opens without a connection. You can also install it to your home screen from your browser's menu, where it behaves like a normal app.
How current is the emoji data?
This site uses Unicode Emoji 16.0, the current published standard, alongside Unicode CLDR for names and search keywords in eight languages. When Emoji 17.0 is finalised the site will be rebuilt from the official files.