What are text emoticons?

Text emoticons are expressions assembled from characters, such as :) for happy or T_T for crying. Classic Western faces often use ASCII, while kaomoji can combine Unicode characters from several scripts.

What's the difference between emoticons and emojis?

Emoticons are text-based faces made from keyboard characters (like :D), while emojis are actual pictographic images (like 😃). Emoticons were created in the 1980s using ASCII characters, whereas emojis are Unicode-based graphical symbols introduced later.

How do I copy emoticons from Emoticon.io?

Click an emoticon in the collection to copy it, then paste it into a message, post, or document. Unicode-heavy kaomoji depend on the destination app and its fonts, so appearance can vary.

Do emoticons work on all devices and platforms?

Simple ASCII emoticons have broad compatibility, but fonts and automatic text replacement can still affect spacing. Kaomoji use wider Unicode ranges, so missing glyphs, line breaks, or different character widths are possible in some apps.

Can I create custom emoticons?

Absolutely! Emoticons are just creative combinations of keyboard characters. You can create your own by experimenting with different punctuation marks, letters, and symbols. Popular custom emoticons include ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ for shrugging and (╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻ for table flipping.