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Twitter for Android is getting its own emoji because of fragmentation

Twitter for Android is getting its own emoji because of fragmentation

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You know it’s bad when apps set their own universal emoji

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Image: Emojipedia/Twitter

How bad is the situation with Android emoji, despite Google’s attempts at an overhaul? So bad, in fact, that Twitter is updating its Android app with custom emoji because most Android phones are never on the same (or latest) software release, so users often aren’t seeing the same icons.

The problem gets even worse when iOS users publish tweets with emoji that Android users don’t have (resulting in those boxes seen in the “before and after” shot). It’s actually pretty sad and even more embarrassing that Twitter had to step in and address the issue.

Regardless of what emoji your phone comes with, from Android KitKat, Nougat, or even Lollipop, Twitter will override and provide you with its own set of “Twemoji” starting today, according to Emojipedia. Moving forward, no matter what the software situation is on your Android phone, you’ll be seeing the same emoji within the Twitter app.

Actually, you might have seen these emoji before and you’d be correct — the new Android “Twemoji” are the same used on the desktop version of Twitter. At least that experience won’t be as fragmented.