Emojis have become an essential way of expressing ourselves in digital communication. Whether you want to show excitement, humor, sadness or love, a well-placed emoji can convey emotions and tone better than plain text. WhatsApp, one of the most popular messaging apps, supports emojis and makes it easy to access them right from your keyboard. In this guide, we’ll walk through the simple steps to get emojis on your WhatsApp keyboard on both iOS and Android devices.
Enable Emoji Keyboard on iOS
For iPhone and iPad users, WhatsApp automatically enables the emoji keyboard once you install the app. Here are the steps to access and use emojis in WhatsApp on iOS:
- Open a WhatsApp conversation and tap on the text field to pull up the keyboard.
- Tap on the emoji icon on the bottom left of the keyboard. This will switch the keyboard to show emoji characters.
- Scroll through the various emoji categories like Smileys & Emotion, People & Body, Animals & Nature, Food & Drink and more.
- Tap on an emoji to add it to your message text.
The emoji icon looks like a smiley face icon. Tapping on it brings up emojis categorized into tabs like Frequently Used, Smileys & People, Animals & Nature, Food & Drink and so on.
Adjust Skin Tone of Diverse Emojis
WhatsApp also allows you to modify the skin tone of human emojis which represent people, body parts, couples and families. To change skin tone:
- Tap and hold on an applicable emoji which shows skin tone.
- This will bring up a popup to select 5 skin tone variants from light to dark.
- Tap on the desired skin tone emoji to insert it.
This allows you to make your emojis more diverse and inclusive for conversations.
Enable Emoji Keyboard on Android
The process is very similar for Android users to get emoji icons on WhatsApp:
- Open WhatsApp and tap on a chat bar to open the keyboard.
- Tap on the smiley face icon next to the space bar on the keyboard.
- This will open up the emoji keyboard with frequently used emojis up top.
- Scroll down to browse through all emoji categories.
- Tap on an emoji to add it to your message.
The emoji icon is usually displayed on the left side of the space bar on your Android keyboard in WhatsApp. Tapping it slides open the emoji keyboard over the letters keyboard.
Change Android Emoji Style
Unlike iOS, Android allows changing the default emoji style in WhatsApp. Follow these steps:
- Go to WhatsApp Settings – Chats – Emoji Style
- You will see emoji style options like WhatsApp, Android, Twitter, Google, Samsung, Apple, Microsoft or EmojiOne.
- Select your preferred emoji style.
This will change the art style for the emojis displayed in WhatsApp chats. The options allow you to use different emoji designs as per your taste.
Use Emojis in WhatsApp Web
WhatsApp Web, which allows using WhatsApp on desktop browsers, also provides quick access to emojis while chatting:
- Open https://web.whatsapp.com in your browser and scan the QR code to link it to WhatsApp on your phone.
- Open a chat window and click on the smiley icon next to the text box.
- This will open the emoji keyboard which you can browse and select emojis from.
The emoji icon is visible next to the attachment icon in chat windows. Clicking on it smoothly slides open the emoji keyboard for easy selection.
Some Useful WhatsApp Emoji Tips
Here are some additional tips to use emojis more effectively in your WhatsApp chats:
- Tap and hold on an emoji to show variants and skin tones (if available).
- Frequently used emojis show up in the recents tab for quick access.
- You can favorite often used emojis by tapping the star icon on them.
- Use emoji combinations to convey more detailed emotions and actions.
- The GIF icon on the emoji keyboard allows you to search and send GIFs.
- You can also use emoji when naming group chats in WhatsApp.
Troubleshooting Emoji Issues
Sometimes you may face issues with sending, receiving or viewing emojis on WhatsApp. Here are some troubleshooting tips:
Update WhatsApp
Make sure you’re running the latest version of WhatsApp by checking for updates in your device’s app store. Updates often fix emoji related bugs.
Check OS Updates
Emoji compatibility issues can occur if your operating system is outdated. Check for latest OS updates for your device.
Clear WhatsApp Cache
Clearing the app cache and data can resolve emoji rendering issues. Note that this deletes your WhatsApp chats so backup chats first.
Change Emoji Style
Trying a different emoji style in WhatsApp Settings can help if certain emojis appear as blocks or random characters.
Confirm Recipient OS
Check if the issue is only happening when messaging contacts using a different OS since Android and iOS sometimes render emojis differently.
Reinstall WhatsApp
As a last resort, uninstall and reinstall WhatsApp to see if it fixes any emoji bugs that persist through the above troubleshooting.
Conclusion
Emojis are a fun way to add color and personality to your conversations on WhatsApp. Both Android and iOS make it very intuitive to access emojis right from the keyboard in chat windows. Play around with the various emoji categories to find relevant icons to express your messages. Use skin tone variations responsibly to make communication more inclusive. If you face any issues with sending or viewing emojis, try the troubleshooting tips outlined. With emojis at your fingertips, your WhatsApp chats are sure to be more engaging!