Is there a way to clear emoji history?

Emojis have become an integral part of digital communication for many people. From adding some fun to a text conversation to expressing emotions and concepts quickly, emojis are ubiquitous across messaging apps and social media.

Given how frequently some people use emojis, the emoji keyboard can remember recently and frequently used emojis in its history. This enables quicker access to those emojis. However, some users may wish to clear their emoji history for privacy or convenience. Here’s what to know about managing emoji history.

What Is Emoji History?

Emoji history refers to the library of recently and frequently used emojis that are easily accessible when you open the emoji keyboard. This history appears at the bottom of the emoji keyboard and shows the last few emojis a person has sent. It acts as a shortcut, allowing quick access to emojis you commonly use.

Emoji history accumulates over time as you use certain emojis more often. The emoji keyboard tracks usage behind the scenes to populate the history bar. This history is tied to the device itself rather than a specific messaging app.

Why Would You Want to Clear Emoji History?

Here are some reasons why someone may want to clear their emoji history:

• Privacy – The emoji history may reveal information about conversations and relationships that a user prefers to keep private.
• Reduce clutter – Frequently used emojis can take up most of the history bar space. Clearing it provides a clean slate.
• Relevance – Clearing the history allows more relevant recent emojis to appear instead of old frequently used ones.
• Context – When lending your device to someone else, you may want to remove the emoji history that is personalized to your conversations.
• Troubleshooting – If the emoji history is glitchy or doesn’t load properly, clearing it may help reset that part of the keyboard.

Overall, clearing the emoji history gives users more control over their privacy while also allowing them to customize the keyboard’s functionality.

How to Clear Emoji History on iPhone

Here are the steps to clear your emoji history on an iPhone:

1. Open the Settings app and select General.
2. Scroll down and tap on Keyboard.
3. On the Keyboard settings screen, tap Text Replacement.
4. In the list of shortcuts, find the emoji icons under Recents.
5. Tap the red minus button next to each emoji icon to remove it from the history.

This will remove all recent emojis from your history. You can also tap “Clear All Shortcuts” to wipe the slate completely clean. Going forward, your emoji keyboard will re-populate with new recent emojis.

Clearing Emoji History on Android

The steps to clear emoji history on Android may vary slightly depending on your device model and Android version. However, here is generally how to do it:

1. Open your device’s Settings app.
2. Navigate to System > Languages & input > Virtual keyboard > Gboard.
3. Tap Dictionary.
4. Tap Emoji history.
5. Tap Clear emoji history.

This will wipe your existing emoji history completely clean. The keyboard will build up a new history over time as you continue using emojis while texting and messaging on your device.

How to Clear Emoji History on WhatsApp

To clear the emoji history that appears in WhatsApp’s emoji picker, use these steps:

1. Open WhatsApp and go into a chat window.
2. Tap the emoji icon to open the emoji keyboard.
3. Tap the 3 dots or settings icon in the bottom corner.
4. Tap Clear emoji history.

This will reset the frequently used emoji icons that are specific to WhatsApp. You can also go into WhatsApp Settings > Chats > Emoji history and tap Clear history to remove them.

Clearing Emoji History on Facebook Messenger

Here is how to clear your Messenger emoji history:

1. Open a Messenger conversation.
2. Open the emoji keyboard.
3. Tap the More Options icon (3 vertical dots).
4. Tap Clear Frequently Used Emoji.

The recent section will now show your most recently sent emojis instead of your most used emojis over time. This provides a quick way to reset the emoji picker.

Removing Emoji History on Snapchat

Snapchat does not have a direct way to clear only your emoji history. However, you can clear your entire chat history which will also wipe the emoji history:

1. Go to your profile by swiping down on the Camera screen.
2. Tap the Settings gear icon.
3. Go to Clear Conversations.
4. Tap Clear Conversations to confirm.

This will delete your conversations and remove emoji history. Keep in mind your friends will no longer be able to view your old Snapchat stories either.

Clearing Emoji History on Microsoft Teams

Microsoft Teams provides an option to clear your used emoji list. Follow these steps:

1. Open a Teams direct message or group chat.
2. Click on the emoji icon.
3. Click the More Options icon.
4. Select Clear Recently Used.

This will immediately reset the emoji history and keyboard for Teams. Going forward, your recent emojis will repopulate based on new usage.

Removing Emoji History on Slack

Slack does not store a long-term emoji history. However, you can clear the recent emojis shown at the top of the picker:

1. Open Slack and go to a conversation.
2. Click on the emoji icon.
3. Click Clear recents at the top.

Your recently used section will now be blank. Slack automatically refreshes this section as you send new messages and emojis.

Clearing Emoji History on Twitter

Twitter’s mobile app does not have an emoji history or recents section in its emoji picker. So there is no built-in way to clear any history. However, refreshing your feed or restarting the app will load a fresh set of emoji suggestions.

How to Delete Emoji History on Gmail

Gmail for mobile does not have an emoji history. However, you can remove recent emojis in Gmail on the web:

1. Open Gmail in your desktop web browser.
2. Open an email or compose a new email.
3. Click the emoji icon next to the attachment button.
4. Click the X icon next to each of the recent emojis to remove them.

This will clear the recent section of the emoji picker in Gmail on the web. The picker will then repopulate with new recent emojis moving forward.

How to Clear Emoji History on Discord

Discord’s emoji picker does not save a history. But you can wipe any recently used emojis by:

1. Opening Discord and going into a server.
2. Clicking the emoji icon.
3. Choosing Recents in the top right.
4. Clicking Clear recents.

Your recent emojis will disappear. Sending new messages and emojis will cause new recent emojis to populate again.

Clearing Emoji History on Twitch

Twitch’s emoji picker does not have a history or recents. So there is no setting to clear previous emojis. However, restarting the app or your device will refresh the emoji suggestions.

How to Clear Emoji History on TikTok

TikTok’s emoji picker does not save a history. But you can refresh it by:

1. Going to your profile.
2. Tapping the 3-line menu.
3. Choosing Settings and privacy.
4. Tapping Log out.
5. Logging back into your account.

Logging out and back in will reload a fresh set of emoji suggestions in TikTok.

Removing Emoji History on Telegram

Telegram has an option to clear recently used emojis:

1. Open Telegram and go to a chat.
2. Tap the emoji icon.
3. Tap Recents at the top.
4. Tap Clear history.

Your recent emojis will disappear. Sending new emojis will cause new suggestions to populate again.

How to Delete Emoji History on Skype

Skype does not have a way to view or manage previously used emojis. But you can refresh the suggestions:

1. Sign out of Skype.
2. Close and reopen the app.
3. Sign back into Skype.

This will reload the emoji keyboard and show a fresh set of recently used emoji suggestions within Skype.

Clearing Emoji History on Other Apps

Many other messaging apps and social networks take an approach similar to Skype. They do not store an emoji history at all. Examples include Signal, Instagram, LINE, Viber, Facebook’s main app, and more.

For these apps, refreshing the feed or restarting the app will update the emojis shown in the picker. There is no specific emoji history to clear.

How to Stop Emoji History from Syncing Across Devices

Some keyboards like Gboard sync your emoji history across devices signed into the same account. To stop this:

1. Go into Gboard app settings.
2. Tap on Sync.
3. Turn off Emoji history syncing.

This will allow each device to maintain separate emoji histories based on usage. Other keyboard apps like SwiftKey have similar emoji sync toggles in their settings.

Should You Clear Your Emoji History Regularly?

Most people don’t need to worry about regularly clearing their emoji keyboard history. But others may want to clear it occasionally for privacy or to keep suggestions relevant. Here are some things to consider:

• Privacy – If letting someone briefly use your phone, clearing recents may protect your info.
• Relevance – Clearing history can remove unused emojis and stale suggestions.
• Troubleshooting – May help if keyboard is glitchy or suggestions aren’t loading.
• Data tracking – Some may prefer to clear history to limit data collected on usage.
• Clutter – Long history can crowd the keyboard with repetitive suggestions.

Overall, occasional clearing is sufficient for most users. But those highly concerned with privacy may want to clear their emoji history regularly, such as every few weeks.

Conclusion

Emoji history can be helpful for quick access to frequently used icons. But it’s easy to clear this history on iPhone, Android, WhatsApp, and other apps if desired for privacy or convenience. Clearing history provides a blank slate and allows fresh recent emojis to populate over time.

Some apps don’t save history at all. Logging out fully then back in will reload the emoji keyboard with new suggestions. For simplicity and relevance, clearing history manually once in a while is usually sufficient.