Facebook Messenger Adds New Emojis with Diverse Skin Tones

Not all emojis were created equal, at least not when it comes to the differences between Android and iOS. We’ve all been there: you want to send the shocked emoji from Android and it looks like a ghost on iOS.

But thanks to the new update for Facebook Messenger, all those emotions will no longer be lost in translation. Not only did the app redesign its 1,500-plus emojis, but has also added 100 new ones.

The best part is that all Messenger users will see the same little pictograms, regardless of the platform they’re using. This means that it doesn’t matter if you’re using Facebook Messenger on desktop, the Web, or on mobile devices – the emojis will deliver the meaning you intended.

The problem with emoji keyboards designed specifically for one OS is that some emoji won’t even appear correctly on another platform; all you see instead is a broken-looking black box or something that doesn’t even make sense.

“Emojis have changed the way we talk to each other — whether it’s a smiley face to show you’re happy, a thumbs up, or a pizza when hungry, emojis are a fun, easy way to express yourself when words just aren’t enough — and people love them,” wrote Facebook in an official blog post.

According to their data, some 10 percent of mobile messages in-app features at least one emoji. And not only do we have a new standard for emoji, we also have been given new ones.

The updated emojis were designed to be more diverse – racially and ethnically speaking. Many of the 100 new emojis are focused on improving our choices in terms of gender and skin tones.

Facebook said that the multi-colored emojis are meant to “create a more balanced mix that’s more representative of our world.” Among the new female-positive emojis are a female pedestrian, swimmer, police officer, runner, and surfer, with more on the way in the near future.

The social network also wants to help people find the right emoji for each situation, so it added am emoji picker. No, artificial intelligence and machine learning are not involved in this feature; the emoji picker simply allows you to select emojis faster with the help of a shortcut.

The redesigned emojis are rolling out today with the latest update of Facebook Messenger.
Image Source: Vocativ

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Nancy Young

When I was younger I used to spend almost all of my free time playing computer games. My mom and dad would go mental over this. “You’re never going to do anything with your life if you are going to play games all day” they used to say. What was even more unusual was the fact that I played more games than most of the guys in my friend group. Looking back, I have to admit that I probably played a bit too much, but I also learned a lot of great things. When I turned 20 I decided that it was high-time to make some money of my own, but the only jobs I could get were that of waitress or cashier. How exciting. After several excruciating months of serving tables I had a great idea: since I love gaming so much, why don’t I write about it? That’s when I started doing small writing projects on Elance. Eventually, I got an offer for a part-time job. During that time I learned all about content marketing strategies and how search engines work. I started writing about various topics such as technology, health and lifestyle and discovered that I was actually good at it. On November 24, 2014, I became part of the ArgyllFreePress team.