It’s a small step for human dignity, and a bigger one for diversity on social media: Facebook has begun to roll out a more diverse set of emoji on Messenger, including skin tones, and more gender options for existing ones.
Facebook was always keen to promote diversity, but it is the first time diverse emoji will be available within Facebook Messenger.
The update – which is available on computers, iOS and Android phones – brings in over 1,500 new emoji with around 100 of them having been designed “to better reflect gender and skin tones” alongside the more gender-agnostic multicoloured emoji.
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Facebook wrote in a blogpost:
[quote]We’re diversifying the genders to create a more balanced mix that’s more representative of our world. Now, using Messenger emoji, you’ll see a female police officer, runner, pedestrian, surfer and swimmer for the very first time, and we’ll keep rolling these out.[/quote]
We all got used to see more female emoji, as well as skin tone options, through our iPhones. But they used to convert weirdly on Facebook, often showing the original yellow emoji together with a coloured “skin tone” square. With the new update on Messenger, these should finally appear normally. And there are many new emoji too, like a female runner or a police woman.
Moreover, on Facebook Messenger you will be able to pick your “default” skin-tone, which you will of course be able to change over time.
Finally, emoji will now have a front seat position in Facebook Messenger, directly accessible within the regular Messenger composer.
If you like our stories, there is an easy way to stay updated:
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All good, Facebook.
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