How do I change the skin color of my emojis?

Emojis are pictographs and smileys that serve as a visual language in digital communication. They allow us to express emotions and ideas without using words. Emojis came into popularity in the early 2000s as they were adopted by mobile phone manufacturers and social media platforms.

In recent years, emojis have become more diverse and inclusive. In 2015, Unicode introduced 5 new emoji skin tone modifiers that allow users to change an emoji’s skin color to better represent them. This was an important step in making communication more representative of different races and ethnicities. As research has shown, diverse emoji skin tones help people feel seen and build community.

How Emoji Skin Tones Work

Emojis originally only had a default yellow skin tone. In 2015, Unicode introduced 5 emoji skin tone options based on the Fitzpatrick scale to provide more inclusive representation. The 5 skin tones include:

🏻 Light skin tone
🏼 Medium-light skin tone
🏽 Medium skin tone

🏾 Medium-dark skin tone
🏿 Dark skin tone

To change an emoji’s default yellow skin tone, a skin tone modifier is added after the emoji. For example, a thumbs up emoji with a medium skin tone would be 👍🏽. The skin tone modifier changes the color of applicable body parts like hands and face.

Emoji skin tones are supported on most major platforms including iOS, Android, Windows, Twitter, and Facebook. However, some older systems may not support them. Skin tones display best on Android and iOS, which have full color emoji fonts. On Windows or websites, skin tones may default to black and white or the default yellow if color emoji fonts are not supported.

Overall, emoji skin tones provide more diverse, inclusive and personalized ways to express yourself. With support across major platforms, they give users more options to represent themselves authentically.^[1]

^[1] https://emojipedia.org/emoji-modifier-sequence/

Changing Skin Tone in Different Apps

The process for changing emoji skin tones will vary depending on the platform you are using, but most major operating systems make it easy to customize your emoji.

iOS

On iOS devices like iPhones and iPads, you can change emoji skin tones directly in the keyboard. When typing an emoji, tap and hold the emoji to view variants with different skin tones. Tap on the variant you want to select it. The next time you use that emoji, your chosen skin tone will be remembered.

Android

The process is similar on Android devices. Press and hold an emoji to view skin tone options. Tap on the desired skin tone to select it. Android will also remember your selections for that emoji in the future.

Windows

In Windows applications that support emoji with skin tones, right click on an emoji while typing to view the skin tone picker. Click on the tone you want, and that variant will be inserted. Windows will save your skin tone preference.

Web

On many web applications and sites with emoji support, you can insert emoji with skin tone modifiers by typing a skin tone emoji modifier after the emoji. For example, typing 🙂 :skin-tone-5: will produce a person with dark brown skin and not the default yellow emoji person.

Why Representation Matters

Having diverse emoji skin tones provides important representation for minority groups. According to a 2018 University of Edinburgh study, the default yellow emoji skin tone is used most often by white people, while minority groups are more likely to change the skin tone to represent themselves (source). For example, up to 25% of African Americans surveyed changed the default yellow skin tone compared to only 9% of white Americans.

Diverse emoji allow people to express themselves in authentic ways. As Alixandra Stirling, a professor who studies emoji, explained: “Being able to express yourself beyond just words themselves is really quite a human need” (source). Seeing emoji that reflect your own appearance provides validation. Meanwhile, having the option to change skin tones helps break down unconscious biases.

While emoji diversity has improved, gaps still remain. There are calls for more representative emoji for groups including different ages, disabilities, body types and gender identities. As emoji increasingly become part of global communication, having inclusive options empowers more people to participate in digital spaces.

Limitations of Emoji Diversity

While more diverse emoji have been added in recent years, representation is still limited for many groups. For example, there continues to be a lack of emoji depicting disabilities, various ethnicities, LGBTQ identities, and religious affiliations beyond common Western faiths. Many combinations of gender presentation, skin tone, hair texture, and other attributes are also missing.

However, efforts are ongoing to add more inclusive emoji. Organizations like the Unicode Consortium and initiatives like Emojination campaign for underrepresented groups to be better reflected in the official emoji list. Through their advocacy, more options have been added for gender neutral figures, family diversity, skin tones, hair styles, occupations, and activities. But there is still room for improvement according to many diversity and inclusion advocates.

The process of getting new emoji approved and widely adopted across platforms takes time. But each new batch brings us one step closer to emoji better representing the diversity of identities and cultures worldwide (https://www.entrepreneur.com/business-news/what-can-emojis-tell-us-about-diversity-and-inclusion/369476).

Tips for Inclusive Emoji Use

When using diverse emoji, it’s important to be respectful and inclusive. Here are some best practices:

Avoid assumptions – don’t use emoji skin tones to guess someone’s actual appearance or identity. Ask people directly how they identify if it’s relevant.
Be thoughtful about mixing emoji skin tones in a sequence – this could imply relationships where there are none. Keep emoji characters separate unless you know there is a connection.
Use diverse emoji naturally when representing real people of varying backgrounds. But don’t force diversity just for the sake of it.

Remember that appearance does not equal identity. Just because someone presents a certain way does not mean they identify that way.
Consider context – some emoji like families or couples may have connotations you didn’t intend. Be aware of cultural meanings.
When in doubt, ask people how they feel about emoji use related to diversity issues. Be open-minded and willing to learn.

The intent is not to limit expression but to encourage thoughtful, empathetic usage that makes diverse audiences feel included, not exploited or stereotyped.

The Future of Diverse Emojis

The push for more diversity and representation in emojis continues. In recent years, there have been new additions focused on depicting people of different races, genders, disabilities, and occupations. For example, in 2019, 59 new emojis were added including people in wheelchairs, hearing aids, prosthetic limbs, and guide dogs. There are also now options for couples with different skin tones.

Many hope to see this progress continue with even more inclusive emojis in the future. There have been proposals to add emojis representing different gender identities and sexual orientations, such as the transgender flag. The Unicode Consortium reviews new emoji proposals each year, so there is optimism that more diversity and representation can be achieved over time. The aim is for all people to feel included and see themselves reflected in the emoji options.

Other Ways to Customize Emoji

In addition to changing skin tones, there are other ways to customize your emojis. Apple users can create personalized emojis called Memoji that look like you. Memoji allow you to design an emoji with customized hair, eyes, skin tone and more (source). Android users can also create customized emojis through various emoji apps.

Third party keyboard apps like Bitmoji or MojiPop allow you to create an avatar and use it as stickers in your messaging apps. These keyboards give you more options to customize your emojis with different poses, facial expressions and accessories.

While the default emojis offer some customization, apps like Memoji give you more granular control over your emoji’s appearance. Custom emoji keyboards also provide a bigger library of personalized emoji stickers and GIFs.

Key Takeaways

When it comes to emoji skin tones, the key points to remember are:

Most major apps now allow users to change emoji skin tones. Look for the skin tone modifier menu while typing.
Changing skin tones allows people to represent themselves authentically. This can promote inclusion.

Skin tone options are still limited. Not all emoji can use the tone modifier and some tones are missing.
Be thoughtful about using diverse emoji respectfully. Don’t assume someone’s race or ethnicity.
More varied and inclusive emoji are being added all the time. The future looks bright for better representation.

Being able to change emoji skin tones to match your own is important for representation. Seeing diverse emoji humanizes technology and allows everyone to communicate in authentic ways. While there is still room for improvement, the options for emoji diversity today allow for more inclusive conversations. Use emoji thoughtfully and respectfully as tools to bring us together.

Further Resources

There are many great resources to learn more about using diverse and inclusive emojis:

UN Guide to Inclusive Emoji – A comprehensive guide from the United Nations on best practices for diverse and inclusive emoji use.

ADL on Emoji Reactions – The Anti-Defamation League provides context on how emoji reactions can be used to harass marginalized groups.
The Emoji Innocence Project – A campaign to prevent emoji misinterpretation in legal cases.
Equal Future – A non-profit promoting fairness and equality in AI systems like emoji.

Unicode Consortium – The organization that approves new emoji designs and guidelines.

With more thoughtful usage and advocacy, emoji can become a more inclusive and representative universal language.