Works on any phone, tablet or computer
How to Copy and Paste Emoji
Every modern device already has a built-in way to type emoji, but the steps are different on every platform, and most built-in pickers only show a handful of recent or favorite emoji instead of a searchable list of all of them. This guide covers the fastest built-in method for each major platform, plus the quickest universal method that works everywhere: searching or browsing on our own emoji keyboard and copying with one click.
The Fastest Method: Copy and Paste (Any Device)
The single fastest way to get any specific emoji, on any device, is to search or browse for it and copy it directly, rather than scrolling through a built-in picker hoping to spot it. Our emoji keyboard lets you type a word like "heart" or "fire", click the emoji you want, and it is copied to your clipboard immediately: ready to paste into whatever app you switch to next. This works identically on iPhone, Android, Windows, Mac, Chromebook and every major browser, since copy-paste is a universal feature of the operating system, not something each individual app has to support separately.
iPhone and iPad (iOS Emoji Keyboard)
iOS has a dedicated emoji keyboard built into every text field:
- Tap into any text field (Messages, Notes, an app's search box, and so on).
- Tap the globe icon (🌐) or the smiley-face icon on the keyboard to switch to the emoji keyboard. If you don't see either, go to Settings → General → Keyboard → Keyboards → Add New Keyboard, and add Emoji.
- Browse by category using the row of icons at the bottom of the emoji keyboard, or tap the magnifying glass to search by name.
- Tap an emoji to insert it directly, or long-press many people/hand emoji to choose a specific skin tone before inserting.
Android (Gboard and Samsung Keyboard)
Most Android phones use Gboard or a similar keyboard with a built-in emoji picker:
- Tap into any text field.
- Tap the smiley-face icon on the keyboard's toolbar (usually to the left of the space bar or above the number row).
- Browse by category along the bottom, or use the search bar at the top of the emoji panel to find one by name.
- Tap an emoji to insert it. On Gboard, long-press a skin-tone-eligible emoji to pick a tone.
Windows
Windows has a system-wide emoji picker you can open from almost any text field:
- Click into any text field.
- Press the Windows key + period (.) or Windows key + semicolon (;) to open the emoji panel.
- Type to search, or click through the category tabs across the top.
- Click an emoji to insert it at your cursor.
Mac
macOS has a system-wide Character Viewer with the same emoji set:
- Click into any text field.
- Press Control + Command + Space to open the emoji and symbol picker.
- Type in the search box at the top, or browse the category sidebar on the left.
- Double-click an emoji, or click once and press Return, to insert it.
Discord, WhatsApp, Facebook and Similar Apps
Chat apps like Discord, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Instagram and Slack all accept standard Unicode emoji in messages, comments and reactions. Two ways to add one:
- Use the app's own emoji button. Almost every chat app has a small emoji icon next to the text box (often a smiley face) that opens a built-in picker with search: Discord's picker also supports custom server emoji alongside standard Unicode emoji, which is a separate feature from the ones on this page.
- Copy and paste from this page. If the app's own picker is slow to search or doesn't have the specific emoji visible, search for it on our emoji keyboard, copy it, then paste directly into the chat's text box the same way you'd paste any copied text.
Email, Outlook and Web Forms
Email clients like Outlook, Gmail and most website comment or contact forms don't always have a dedicated emoji button. In those cases, the copy-paste method is usually the most reliable: search for the emoji you want on our emoji keyboard, click to copy it, then click into the email or form field and paste (Ctrl+V on Windows, Cmd+V on Mac). Because emoji are standard Unicode text, they display correctly in the vast majority of modern email clients and web forms without any special setup.
Choosing the Right Emoji
Picked an emoji but not entirely sure what it actually means, or worried it might read differently than intended? See our emoji meanings page for plain-language explanations of the emoji people ask about, and mix up, most often.
Is Any of This Tracked?
No. Every search and copy on our emoji keyboard runs entirely in your own browser, nothing you look up is sent anywhere or saved on a server. The only thing kept locally is a short "Recently copied" list, stored in your own browser purely so it's there next time you visit. See the full privacy policy for exactly what this site does and does not collect.