The fastest way: use the built-in emoji keyboard
Your iPhone comes with an emoji keyboard already installed. You do not need to read anything or change any settings. To use it, open any app where you type — Messages, Mail, Notes, or any text field — and look at your keyboard. In the bottom left corner, you will see a button that looks like a smiley face. Tap it once.
The keyboard switches to show emoji organized by category: smileys, animals, food, activities, travel, objects, symbols, and flags. Scroll left and right to move between categories, or tap the category icons at the bottom to jump directly to what you want. Tap any emoji to insert it into your message or text.
To switch back to your regular keyboard, tap the globe icon (or the ABC button, depending on your iPhone model) in the bottom left corner. You can toggle between emoji and letters as many times as you want while typing a single message.
Key Takeaways
- The emoji keyboard is built into every iPhone and requires no setup — tap the smiley face icon at the bottom left of any keyboard to access it.
- Emoji are organized by category (smileys, animals, food, travel, and others), and you can scroll or tap category icons to find what you need.
- You can switch between the emoji keyboard and your regular letter keyboard as many times as you want while typing a single message.
- Skin tone variations and emoji combinations appear when you hold your finger on an emoji — not all emoji have these options.
- If the smiley face button is missing from your keyboard, you may have disabled the emoji keyboard in Settings, and you can turn it back on under Keyboards.
Finding emoji variations and skin tones
Many emoji have multiple versions. If you hold your finger on an emoji for a moment without lifting, a menu pops up showing variations. Smileys and people emoji usually have skin tone options. Some emoji can be combined — for example, holding on a hand emoji shows different skin tones, and holding on a family emoji shows different combinations of people.
Not every emoji has variations. straightforward objects like food or animals usually appear the same way no matter what. The menu only shows up if variations exist for that particular emoji.
What to do if the emoji keyboard disappeared
If you tap the smiley face button and nothing happens, or if the button is not there at all, the emoji keyboard may have been turned off. Open Settings on your iPhone and go to General, then Keyboard. Look for "Keyboards" in that menu and tap it. You should see a list of your active keyboards — look for "Emoji" in the list.
If Emoji is not listed, tap "Add New Keyboard" at the bottom, scroll down to find Emoji, and tap it to add it back. If Emoji is already listed, try deleting it and adding it again. Close Settings and return to any text field — the smiley face button should now appear on your keyboard.
Using emoji search to find what you want faster
Instead of scrolling through categories, you can search for emoji by name. Open the emoji keyboard and look at the top — you will see a search field. Tap it and type what you are looking for: "heart", "fire", "laugh", "thumbs", or any word that describes the emoji you want.
The keyboard filters results as you type, showing only emoji that match your search. This is much faster than scrolling if you know roughly what you are looking for. For example, typing "party" shows party poppers, party hats, and celebration-related emoji all at once.
Adding emoji to your frequently used list
The emoji keyboard remembers which emoji you use most often. The first category tab (usually showing a clock icon) displays your most recently used emoji. The more you use a particular emoji, the higher it appears in this list, making it faster to find next time.
You can also manually add emoji to your favorites. In some iPhone models, you can tap and hold an emoji, then tap "Add to Favorites" if that option appears. This varies by iOS version, so check whether your keyboard offers this feature. Either way, your frequently used emoji will stay at the top of the list automatically.
Emoji keyboard settings you can change
The emoji keyboard itself has few settings, but you can control which keyboards appear on your iPhone overall. Go to Settings, then General, then Keyboard, then Keyboards. Here you can add or remove any keyboard language or type, reorder them by dragging, or delete ones you do not use.
You can also add a second language keyboard if you want to type in multiple languages. Each keyboard you add gets its own button on your keyboard bar, so you can switch between them quickly. The emoji keyboard works alongside any language keyboard you have active.
Why emoji sometimes look different on different devices
An emoji you send from your iPhone may look slightly different when someone views it on an Android phone, a computer, or even a different iPhone model. Apple designs its own emoji style, and other companies design theirs differently. The meaning stays the same, but the appearance changes.
This is normal and not a problem with your iPhone. The person receiving your message sees the emoji in whatever style their device uses. If you want to know exactly how your emoji will look to someone on a different device, you can search online for "emoji appearance across platforms" — but in practice, the differences are small and the meaning is always clear.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I add custom emoji or create my own?
Not through the standard emoji keyboard. Apple does not allow you to create or upload custom emoji on iPhone. You can only use the emoji that come built in. Some messaging apps like Slack or Discord let you use custom emoji within those apps, but that is different from your iPhone keyboard.
Why does my emoji keyboard show different emoji than my friend's?
If you have an older iPhone or an older version of iOS, you may not have the newest emoji. Apple adds new emoji every year with iOS updates. Update your iPhone to the latest iOS version in Settings > General > Software Update to get the newest emoji.
Can I use emoji in passwords or usernames?
Some websites and apps allow emoji in passwords or usernames, but many do not. It depends on what you are signing up for. If a field rejects an emoji, try using letters and numbers instead. Emoji in passwords can also cause problems if you switch between devices or operating systems.
How do I type emoji faster without using the keyboard?
On newer iPhones with iOS 17 or later, you can use voice typing. Tap the microphone icon on your keyboard and say the emoji name out loud — say "heart" or "laughing face" and the emoji appears. This is faster than searching if you know the emoji name.
What if an emoji I want is not in the keyboard?
Not all emoji exist yet. Apple adds new ones with each iOS update, usually in the fall. If you want an emoji that does not exist, you can copy and paste it from a website that shows all available emoji, or wait for the next iOS update to see if Apple adds it.