Overview

• The global observance began in 2014 when Emojipedia founder Jeremy Burge chose July 17 to match Apple’s calendar emoji display.
• Unicode’s spring 2025 update introduced eight new emojis that Emojipedia has ordered by early popularity.
• Face with bags under eyes led the rankings, followed by splashes, shovel, fingerprint and harp designs.
• Researchers warn that some adolescent subcultures, including incel communities, assign symbols like 💯 and 🧨 hidden meanings to convey beliefs or threats.
• The mate emoji, approved in 2019 after a #UnEmojiParaElMate campaign, remains a leading example of local identity achieving global resonance.