Using the Emoji Keyboard in iOS

1. Open a messaging program.

You can use Emoji in any program that you type messages in, such as Mail, iMessage, Twitter, etc. Tap on the text entry field to open your standard keyboard.

2. Tap the smiley face button.

This is located on your virtual keyboard next to your Dictator button (the one with the microphone). Doing this will bring you directly to the Emoji keyboard.

If you have a globe button, access the Emoji keyboard by holding your finger down on the globe and then selecting "Emoji" from the list that appears. The globe button appears if you have multiple keyboard languages enabled besides emoji..

3. Select your Emoji.

Once you have the Emoji keyboard selected, you can browse through all of the icons available. There are several categories to choose from. Tap the buttons on the bottom to change categories. Each category has several pages of icons to choose from. Swipe left or right to change pages.

Recently used emojis: clock icon; emojis that you have recently used are stored in this tab.

People: smiley icon

Nature: tree icon

Food & Drink: cheeseburger and soda icon

Celebration: party popper icon

Activity: running person icon

Travel & Places: car and buildings icon

Objects & Symbols: icon with assorted symbols

Some icons allow you to select skin tone. Press and hold the icon to see the available skin tones. Slide your finger to the skin tone you want to use and release. The emoji with your selected skin tone will appear. This skin tone will be saved as the default. [1]

4. Send the emoji.

Tap “ABC” to return to your non-emoji keyboard(s) if you need to type more text. If your recipient does not have emoji support (such as an email recipient not using an Apple device), then they will see blank images.