Emojis can have multiple meanings, says WhatsApp

WhatsApp took to its Twitter handle to explain that emojis can have multiple meanings. Here is all you need to know.

WhatsApp explains multiple meanings of emojis on World Emoji Day. (Pixabay)

Emojis are used by people to express their feelings and emotions without having to put them down in words. May it be WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook, or any other social media application or even normal texting, emojis can be used everywhere. The entire world celebrated World Emoji Day on Sunday, July 17th. On the occasion, WhatsApp took to its official Twitter handle to inform that emojis can have multiple meanings. The messaging application also gave an example to explain the same. “Did you know emojis can have multiple meanings? For example, to kamaʻāinas in Hawaii, the shaka 🤙 means friendship. It's a common sign in Brazilian jiu-jitsu 🤙 In China 🤙 means the number 6. And for surfers, 🤙 means hang ten,” the tweet by WhatsApp read.

Did you know emojis can have multiple meanings? For example, to kamaʻāinas in Hawaii, the shaka 🤙 means friendship. It's a common sign in Brazilian jiu-jitsu 🤙 In China 🤙 means the number 6. And for surfers, 🤙 means hang ten.#WorldEmojiDay

— WhatsApp (@WhatsApp) July 17, 2022

The messaging platform further said, “Like the shaka, the 🙏 emoji is often used as a gesture of praying, it also means thank you in Japanese culture 🙏 and can be used as a high-five 🙏.” While another tweet read, “Between the shaka 🤙 and the prayer hands 🙏, emojis carry different meanings across different cultures and we love to celebrate them! Happy #WorldEmojiDay 🎊💚.”

Between the shaka 🤙 and the prayer hands 🙏, emojis carry different meanings across different cultures and we love to celebrate them! Happy #WorldEmojiDay 🎊💚

— WhatsApp (@WhatsApp) July 17, 2022

WhatsApp has recently added emoji reactions to its app. However, what needs to be noted is that WhatsApp provided only 6 emojis which can be used to react to a message. The 6 emojis include- Like, Love (Red heart), Laugh, Surprised, Sad, and Thanks. Informing about the roll out of reactions, Mark Zuckerberg, Founder and CEO at Meta posted on Facebook, "Reactions on WhatsApp start rolling out today 👍❤️😂😮😢🙏." Zuckerberg further informed that more expressions will be added soon.

How to react to a message on WhatsApp

1. WhatsApp users can react to both messages sent in an individual chat and in a group chat.

2. All you need to do is tap and hold a message bubble you want to react to.

3. You will see the options of emojis you can send to react. You can react to a message by choosing any of the emojis provided.

4. WhatsApp users can also see who reacted to any incoming and outgoing message by clicking the reaction icon. You will receive a push notification every time someone reacts to your messages.

It can be noted that only one reaction per message can be added and reactions to disappearing messages will disappear when the message disappears. Also it is not possible to hide reactions or reaction counts.

Here is how to change your reaction

1. Long press on a message you reacted to.

2. Tap a different emoji or tap to select a different emoji from your keyboard.

How to remove a reaction

Step 1:

Long press on the message you reacted to or tap the reaction.

Step 2:

Tap the emoji you reacted with to remove it.