Emoji vs Text Symbols: Why ❤ Turns Into a Colour Emoji
Quick answer: some symbols are both a text character and an emoji. ❤, ✔, ☺, ©, ♥ and ➡ can appear as a plain black symbol or as a colour picture, depending on the device, the app and an invisible variation selector after the character. To keep a symbol plain everywhere, pick a character that is not an emoji, such as ✓, → or ★.
Quick reference: every method
Every Alt code below is verified against the real Windows code pages — where none exists we say so, rather than list one that won’t work.
| Char | Name | Windows | Mac | HTML | Word (Alt+X) | Unicode |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ❤ | Heavy Black Heart | Copy / paste | Copy / paste | ❤ |
2764 + Alt+X |
U+2764 |
| ✔ | Heavy Check Mark | Copy / paste | Copy / paste | ✔ |
2714 + Alt+X |
U+2714 |
| ✓ | Check Mark | Copy / paste | Copy / paste | ✓ |
2713 + Alt+X |
U+2713 |
| ☺ | White Smiling Face | Alt+1 |
Copy / paste | ☺ |
263A + Alt+X |
U+263A |
| → | Rightwards Arrow | Alt+26 |
Copy / paste | → |
2192 + Alt+X |
U+2192 |
| ★ | Black Star | Copy / paste | Copy / paste | ★ |
2605 + Alt+X |
U+2605 |
| ⭐ | White Medium Star | Copy / paste | Copy / paste | ⭐ |
2B50 + Alt+X |
U+2B50 |
| © | Copyright Sign | Alt+0169 |
Option+G |
© |
00A9 + Alt+X |
U+00A9 |
One character, two pictures
When emoji were added to Unicode, many existing symbols (hearts, card suits, arrows, the copyright sign, weather signs) were also given emoji status rather than duplicated. Each such character has a default style:
| Group | Examples | What usually happens |
|---|---|---|
| Emoji by default | ⭐ ✅ ⬛ ⭕ | Colour emoji almost everywhere |
| Text by default, but also emoji | ❤ ✔ ☺ © ® ♥ ➡ ☀ | Plain on many computers, often colour on phones |
| Not emoji at all | ✓ → ★ • ✗ ∞ | Always plain text in the current font |
See the text heart ❤ next to the red heart emoji ❤️: it is the same code point, U+2764.
The two variation selectors
- U+FE0E (variation selector 15) after a symbol asks for the text style. In HTML:
︎. - U+FE0F (variation selector 16) asks for the emoji style. Emoji pickers usually add it, so ❤ from the emoji keyboard is really U+2764 U+FE0F.
They are invisible and have no effect on characters that only have one style. Support isn't universal: some phones show the emoji anyway, and some text boxes strip the selector.
Where it causes problems
- Documents and designs: a neat black ✔ in a list becomes a green emoji on a phone.
- Brand marks: © or ™ can turn into small coloured emoji tiles in some apps.
- Counting characters: ❤️ is two code points, which matters for character limits and in code (what is Unicode).
- Search: text with and without FE0F may not match.
The reliable fix: use a non-emoji character
| Instead of | Use | Code |
|---|---|---|
| ✔ / ✅ | ✓ check mark | U+2713 |
| ➡ | → rightwards arrow | U+2192 (Alt+26) |
| ⭐ | ★ black star | U+2605 |
| ✖ / ❌ | ✗ ballot X | U+2717 |
| ▶ | ► black right-pointing pointer | U+25BA (Alt+16) |
On web pages, newer browsers also support the CSS property font-variant-emoji: text, which requests the text style; use it as an extra, not the only fix.
Accessibility
Screen readers read emoji by their names, so ❤️ is read as "red heart". Rows of decorative emoji make text slow to listen to (symbols and screen readers).
Related: check mark symbols, heart symbols and the emoji list.
Frequently asked questions
Why does my symbol turn into a colour emoji?
Some older symbols, such as ❤, ✔, ☺ and ©, were later also made emoji. Phones and some apps choose the emoji picture for them, especially if an invisible emoji selector follows the character.
How do I stop a symbol from showing as an emoji?
Use a character that is not an emoji, such as ✓ instead of ✔, → instead of ➡ and ★ instead of ⭐. Or add the text selector U+FE0E after the symbol, which many but not all systems respect.
What are FE0E and FE0F?
They are invisible variation selectors. U+FE0E after a symbol asks for the plain text style and U+FE0F asks for the colour emoji style. They only affect characters that have both styles.
Which symbols are always plain text?
Characters that are not emoji at all, such as ✓ (U+2713), → (U+2192), ★ (U+2605), • and most maths symbols, always show in the text font.
Looking for something else? Browse 1,000+ copy-paste symbols, the full Alt Codes finder, or the emoji picker.