Updated for iOS 18, Android 15, Windows 11 24H2

How to type emojis on every device

The complete reference for every platform — keyboard shortcuts, picker tricks, autocomplete, and what to do when the emoji shows up as a box.

📱 iPhone 🤖 Android 🪟 Windows 🍎 Mac 💻 Chromebook 🐧 Linux 💬 Discord 💼 Slack 📝 Notion

📱

On iPhone & iPad

iOS 18 · iPadOS 18

Open any app with a keyboard — Messages, WhatsApp, Notes, etc.

Tap the globe 🌐 or smiley face icon on the bottom-left of the keyboard.

Type a name (e.g. pleading) in the search bar at the top of the emoji keyboard.

Tap the emoji to insert. Long-press for skin-tone variants.

🌐

space

💡

Pro tip · iOS predictively suggests emoji replacements as you type. Type “fire” and the keyboard will offer 🔥 right above the text. Tap to replace.

Why doesn't the globe icon show up?

You only have one keyboard installed. Go to Settings → General → Keyboard → Keyboards → Add New Keyboard → Emoji.

How do I get the older emoji style back?

You can't downgrade emoji designs without downgrading iOS. Apple's emoji art ships baked into the OS font.

🤖

On Android

Gboard, Samsung Keyboard, SwiftKey

Open any text field. Your keyboard (usually Gboard) appears.

Tap the smiley face icon next to the spacebar.

Use the search bar — type pleading — and tap the emoji.

Or use Emoji Kitchen — long-press an emoji and tap another to combine them.

☻

space

↵

💡

Pro tip · Gboard has a sticker drawer separate from emojis. Tap the sticker icon to access animated Bitmoji and Emoji Kitchen combos.

🪟

On Windows 10 & 11

Built-in emoji picker

Click into any text field — browser, Word, Discord, anywhere.

Press ⊞ Win + . to open the emoji picker.

Or use ⊞ Win + ; — same picker.

Type to search. Click the emoji to insert. Press Esc to close.

⊞

💡

Pro tip · The Win+. picker also has GIFs, kaomoji (¯\_(ツ)_/¯), and symbol categories.

🍎

On macOS

macOS Sequoia 15

Click into any text field.

Press ⌃ + ⌘ + Space to open the character viewer.

Search pleading face and double-click to insert.

Or use the menu bar: Edit → Emoji & Symbols.

⌃

⌘

space

💡

Pro tip · Switch the character viewer to a floating window by clicking the icon in the top-right of the popover. Stays open while you switch apps.

💻

On Chromebook

ChromeOS 130+

Press ⌕ + Shift + Space to open the emoji picker.

Right-click any text field and choose Emoji from the menu.

Search by name, then click to insert.

⌕

⇧

space

🐧

On Linux

GNOME, KDE, Hyprland

GNOME (Ubuntu, Fedora): Press Ctrl + ; in any GTK text field.

KDE Plasma: Open Emoji Selector via Meta key or krunner.

Universal: Install rofi-emoji or wofi-emoji for a wmctl-friendly picker.

Or use ibus: type a colon and shortcode like :fire: for autocomplete.

⌃

;

💬

In Discord

Desktop, mobile, web

In any message field, type a colon : and start typing.

Autocomplete appears: :pleading → :pleading_face: → 🥺.

Press Tab or Enter to insert. Or click the smiley face icon in the message bar.

Custom server emoji: Same syntax — :catjam:. Nitro lets you use them across servers.

🥺

💼

In Slack

Desktop & mobile

In any message, type :pleading_face: to insert directly.

Or click the smiley icon in the message toolbar and search.

To react: hover the message and click the smiley icon. Or shortcut: ⌘ + ⇧ + \.

⌘

⇧

📝

In Notion

For page icons & inline emojis

Type :emoji anywhere — Notion shows an inline picker.

For page icons, click the icon spot at the top of any page and pick.

Press ⌘ + E or Ctrl + E for inline highlighting.

🔥

⊹ One-page reference

Keyboard shortcuts cheat sheet

Every emoji-picker shortcut on every platform. Bookmark, screenshot, print.

Action	iOS	Android	Windows	Mac	Chromebook	Linux (GNOME)
Open emoji picker	Tap globe 🌐	Tap ☻ icon	⊞ Win + .	⌃ ⌘ Space	⌕ ⇧ Space	Ctrl + ;
Search by name	Top search bar	Top search bar	Type to search	Type to search	Type to search	Type to search
Skin tone variant	Long-press	Long-press	Click + variant	Hover + variant	Click + variant	Right-click
Insert & close	Tap emoji	Tap emoji	Click + Esc	Dbl-click	Click + Esc	Click + Esc
Switch keyboard	🌐 globe	🌐 globe	⊞ Win + Space	⌃ Space	⌕ Space	Settings

⊹ Common problems

When emojis break

Emoji shows as a box □

The platform doesn't have a glyph for that emoji yet — usually because the OS is old. Update your OS, or accept that newer emojis will render as boxes on devices older than Unicode 14.

Wrong emoji rendered

Each platform draws emojis differently. The codepoint is correct; the artwork isn't. Send the codepoint instead (e.g. U+1F525) if you need pixel-perfect agreement.

Win+. picker won't open

Your input language doesn't support the picker. Settings → Time & language → Language → Set US English as default, restart.

Custom Discord emoji not working

You're not boosting the server, or the emoji is animated and you don't have Nitro.

Emoji not showing in browser

Browser is missing the emoji font. Install Noto Color Emoji (Linux) or update your OS (Windows, Mac).

Skin tone doesn't stick

Some emojis don't support skin-tone modifiers (e.g. 🤝 handshake, until Unicode 14). Hold to verify which variants exist.

⊹ Power user

For maximum velocity

Text replacement shortcuts

iOS & macOS: Settings → Keyboard → Text Replacement. Map ;fire → 🔥 and similar. Syncs across devices.

Espanso (cross-platform)

Open-source text expander. Define :fire: → 🔥 once, works everywhere — even in browsers, terminals, IDE chat boxes.

Script emoji typing

Use xdotool on Linux or cliclick on Mac. Combine with shell scripts to insert from a clipboard manager.

Save this guide

Bookmark it, screenshot the cheat sheet, or share with a friend who keeps asking.