How to Turn off the Facebook Messenger Emojis on Android

The influx of new emoji variations has taken the technological world by storm. So many apps have their own set of emojis to choose from, so you can express the full range of your emotions with cute, miniature graphics. On June 2, Facebook Messenger for Android, iOS, and Desktop was updated to include 1,500 new emojis! This new set of emojis includes more skin tone options, and more female figures. Although this may sound like great news, the Facebook masses aren’t too happy about the change.

Helping or Hurting

Many have objected to this recent Messenger update, as the emojis are criticized for being less realistic, and more pictorial than the previous options. This falls in line with a general criticism that more and more app updates seem unnecessary, or irrelevant. This addition has also been criticized for replacing the emoji options already available on different devices. Once updated, the user only has access to the emoji keyboard associated with the Messenger app.

Many critics of this new set of emojis want to disable the keyboard so they can use the emoji settings on their device, or another set of emojis entirely. This is an option for both Android, and iOS users.

How to Turn off the New Emojis

Initially, the Messenger app will ask, while updating, if you wish to include the new emojis. There is an option to click “Turn Off” when on this screen, to get rid of this part of the update. However, if you have already updated, and the new emojis have already taken over, you can still deactivate the keyboard.

To disable the new Messenger emojis, follow these easy steps:

1. Open the Messenger app on your device.

2. Click on the “Me” option at the bottom of the screen, and choose the “Photos and Media” tab.

3. Click on the off side of the “Messenger Emoji” button to disable the feature.

After following these steps, you should be able to use any emoji keyboard on your device, rather than be restricted to those available solely on the app.

The More You Know

If you are interested in learning more about the Facebook Messenger app, or about Android keyboards in general, the PSafe blog can help. Check out our blog post on Facebook Messenger’s hidden games feature, and hidden messages. Then, read up on the many other keyboards available for your smartphone. Want to write with GIFs instead of emojis? Where there’s a will, there’s a way!